


Coffee & Books (book 2) - Loki fanfic

by ilse_writes



Category: Loki - Fandom
Genre: Action, Angst, Book 2 of Coffee & Books, Catch the bad guys, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Inspired by Black Panther, Jotun Loki, Las Vegas, Little bit of smut, Loki and Ylva stay on a farm, Loki gets his powers back temporarily, Loki's POV, Loki's restraints are explained, Multiple stories in one book, On the Run, Rewrite of some chapters of Coffee & Books from a different POV, Sharing a hotel room with Loki, Sly fox, Wakanda forever, Ylva goes on a mission for Wakanda, Zootopia references, horse riding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 18:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17872232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilse_writes/pseuds/ilse_writes
Summary: This is book 2 in the Coffee & Books series. These short stories feature the main characters of 'Coffee & Books': Ylva and Loki. Instead of making this a series I decided to publish all the short stories in one book.'LAS VEGAS'Loki and Ylva are off on a mission to Las Vegas. Wakanda needs Ylva's help and while it sounds simple at first, it turns out she bit off more than she can chew.'SLY FOX'Inspired by the readers of Coffee & Books who thought of officer Nick Wilde when they read about S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Gary Wilde.Ylva gets back at agent Wilde for kidnapping her, in a foxy way. Oh, and it's Halloween!'THE COUNTRYSIDE'Loki and Ylva visit her home country, the Netherlands. She takes him camping when they go visit her grandparents. [warning: mature content / smut]'LOKI'S VIEW'Scenes from the first six chapters of 'Coffee & Books', rewritten from Loki's point of view.'RESTRAINTS'Loki turns Jotun when he gets his magic restricting bracelets on for the first time. Featuring Loki, Thor and Tony Stark.Stories first published on Wattpad over the course of 2018.





	1. Las Vegas - part 1: The Bar

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Las Vegas!
> 
> This is a 'Coffee & Books' short story, featuring Ylva and Loki. You can read this story without having read the first book, but take it from me: you are missing out on something! ;-) You can find the main story on my profile @ilse_writes.
> 
> This story takes place after the last chapter of 'Coffee & Books'. It is partly inspired by Black Panther, the exciting movie addition to the ever growing world of Marvel.
> 
> As always, your comments and kudos are much appreciated. I'd love to hear from you!
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer:  
> Of course I don't own the Marvel Characters or the names and images of the Las Vegas hotels and other businesses. I just took some public elements and put them inside my own storyline.  
> Ylva Frederikson is my creation, as are the other original characters and elements of the story. Please treat them as such.
> 
> This story is rated PG-13, for strong language, nudity and violence.

The Downtown Bar is crowded when I get in. In the front is a group of men, all wearing the same type of suits, their ties loosened. One of them even has his tie around his head, a beer in each hand. Lawyers, I think, and by the looks of it they are celebrating something.  
"Excuse me, coming through." I try to make my way past the pumped up men. They meet me with cheers and raised glasses and some of the men actually close me in, standing around me. Great, drunk men who think I am their plaything.

"Hello there, beautiful!" A guy with slicked back brown hair points at me with his drink. He is drinking whiskey on the rocks, the ice cubes tingling in his glass.  
I don't answer, glaring at him.  
"Why the frown, beautiful? We are celebrating a big win here. And I'd like you to be my next big win!" His mates cheer him on, as the slick guy takes a step closer to me. He puts his hand up to my face, conveniently grazing my breasts in the process.

"Don't touch me," I state clearly, while quickly grabbing his hand and putting pressure on his thumb. It's a simple move, you just fold the thumb and apply pressure. But it hurts and the guy drops his glass as he shouts out in pain.

"Bitch!" he hisses at me, while clutching the hand I just released. His mates look confused, they had too much to drink to fully comprehend what just happened. The guy tries to get in my face, but he is held back by a strong hand.

"As much as I'd like to watch the lady kick your ass, now is not the time."  
Loki pushes the guy to the side so I can step through.

"Hi honey," I say cheerfully and reach up for a kiss. Loki kisses me in a way that shows the rest of the world I am his and that he is not inclined to share. As always he manages to convey the message with class, otherwise I would have asked him to save it for the bedroom.

The God of Mischief takes my hand and guides me to a table in the back. My friend Sharon Carter is already waiting for us.  
She has called us both here and I am curious why. I meet her for drinks here almost every week, but now she specifically asked for Loki to join us too.  
Sharon is not one to keep us waiting, so as soon as we have drinks, she pulls out an envelope. "Plane tickets to Las Vegas. Wakanda needs your help."

"I beg your pardon?" Loki gives Sharon a sharp look and I can see he is suspicious.

"Why would Wakanda need our help?" I ask my friend. "From what I have seen in the news Wakanda is more than capable to take care of itself."  
The African country gave the world a big surprise, showing it is way more advanced than everybody always thought. I had seen King T'Challa in the newspapers more than once, conveying a strong message of peace and charity.

"Actually, just your help," Sharon says, looking directly at me.

"You need her to use her powers on someone," Loki says, catching on quicker than me.

I glance in the envelope, it holds two plane tickets. "This is for tomorrow afternoon!"

"Yes. Is that a problem? You work just the morning shift this saturday, right?"

"Sharon, seriously. What is this about? I am not a secret agent."

"You better start talking." Loki sounds ticked off.

Sharon explains that the king of Wakanda needs information about a man called Blackstoke, who can be found in Las Vegas tomorrow night. "We suspect he is planning to steal Wakandan technologies, under the cover of a farmers aid program. We need names and dates."

"And why would I want to get mixed up in this?"

"You don't. Let's go, Ylva." Loki takes my hand and pulls me up from my seat.

"Please wait," Sharon says, grabbing my other hand. "I would not ask this if we had another choice."

I look from her to Loki. For the most part, I want to go with Loki. Why would I use my powers in the name of a king I've never met? But I also believe Sharon would not come to me if she had other options left.  
"Let's just listen to her. We can always say no." I squeeze Loki's hand, pleading with my eyes. He pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out an exasperated sigh, but he sits down again.

"Doesn't king T'challa have his own secret agents or something?" I ask Sharon.

"He does. But he needs an outsider for this."

"Why not you?" Loki cuts in.

"I'm confined to my desk job."

"The Black Widow is your go to girl for things like this. Send her in." Loki seems to know his agents, I on the other hand am not sure if I know this Black Widow woman.

"She is otherwise engaged."

"But why me? I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

"Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to stay out of it. You're not an agent, but you do have some special skills. And..."

"Let me guess, you guys need a pretty girl," Loki sneers.

"I'm flattered," I say sarcastically. "And why two tickets? What does Loki have to do?"

"Keeping an eye on you," the God of Mischief answers my question. And he appears to be right. It really has to be an outside job, so I have to go in alone. King T'Challa's men will be on standby, but they have to stay out of sight. Loki can go with me, if he keeps his distance.

The whole thing is arranged. They even gave Loki and me an alibi to go to Las Vegas: apparently I've won a night in a hotel on the Strip in an online competition. Loki has permission to fly to Vegas, thanks to Sharon.  
"You are doing this without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s knowledge, isn't it?" I ask Sharon.

"Yes. And no."

"And how does king T'Challa know about me?"

"A mutual friend."  
Sharon explains some more about the mission. It sounds pretty straightforward and not too dangerous; just try to get a man to talk with my looks and my charm. Oh, and my powers, those too.

Loki folds his arms and sighs.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"You are planning to dive in head first in something you have nothing to do with."

I smile at my prince. "It worked out great with you."


	2. Las Vegas - Part 2: The hotel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Ylva arrive in Las Vegas and meet up with the Wakanda agents.

When we land on McCarran International Airport, there is a driver waiting for us. She holds up a sign with my name on it and takes us to a fancy town car. Once inside the car, she briefly shows us the inside of her lower lip. It has a tattoo with blue glowing symbols, unique for people from Wakanda. She also gives me an envelope. Inside is a picture of my target and some background information. Up until now, everything goes as we planned.

"I feel like James Bond!" I exclaim in my nervous excitement. The driver looks at me in the rear view mirror, her eyes a little alarmed.  
"Just kidding," I say soothingly, looking at the papers a little more serious.

"No, you're not." Loki says under his breath.

The driver drops us of at The Venetian, the hotel we are supposed to be staying as part of our cover. We only take the empty bag that was already in the trunk, the driver will drop off our bags at the hotel we will actually stay at. I watch the hotel before me. It looks like they took a part of Venice, Italy and dropped it in the middle of the desert.

"Ugh. What kind of tourist trap is this?" I groan. Everything is over the top and tacky, the hotel even has a fake canal with gondolas. Inside it's a little better, but the interior decorator still went out of his or her way to bathe the whole place in a very classic looking version of luxury. Not my cup of tea.

We check in and follow the bellhop to our room. Loki asks the young man the best roulette table in town and tips him.

"You play roulette?"

"No. But it's a gambling game, right? When asked, he can tell we went to the casino."

I look at my watch. We are supposed to be at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in half an hour, but we need to go separately.

"It's a 10 minute drive by car. We need to leave soon." Loki takes up the phone and asks the reception for two taxis. When he puts down the phone he strides over to me and takes me in his arms. "I don't like this. You should pull out of this while you still can."

"Don't worry. Like Sharon said, Blackstoke is a dangerous man, with gun trafficking and extortion on his rap sheet, but I only need to get his accountant to talk. That guy is just a paper pusher. And besides, you will be there."

"I would be more at ease if I didn't have these," Loki says, showing me the electronic bracelet on his left wrist.

"We'll be fine, you'll see. It's just for tonight." I put my arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. "And after that, there is a hotel room waiting for us, in a five star hotel."

Loki answers my kiss, pulling me flush against him. "Then let's get this over with as soon as possible."

When I get out of the taxi I look up at the tall building that is the Mandarin Oriëntal. With the white and blue lights it almost looks like it's made of ice. I check in and follow a bellhop to my room for the second time. It's a beautiful suite and my bag is waiting for me on a stool next to the bed.  
I pull out the dress I will be wearing tonight. It's nothing like my gala dress. This one is a deep shade of red, with spaghetti straps and a waterfall neckline. It is meant to stand out and when I look at myself in the mirror I can see it hits the target.

There's a knock on the door that connects my suite with the one next to it. When I open it, Loki looks at me, his eyes wide.

"Do you like it?" I ask, turning around for him.

He swallows. "I will not be the only one who likes this dress."

"You are just jealous," I chuckle.

My dark prince pulls me against him. "Can you blame me? I will have to watch you sweet-talk another man tonight. You know I don't share." His voice is husky and for a second I think about the king size bed in the room behind me.

A knock on the door interrupts our moment. I have a job to do.  
I open the door for a black woman who is pushing a trolley with a bottle of champagne on ice.

"Room service," she announces, coming in the room. Once inside she shows us the blue tattoo on the inside of her lip.  
"My name is M'Teki. I have your communication devices." She sticks a tiny disc behind our ears. "This allows you to communicate with us, we will be listening the whole time."  
She turns to me. "I've put yours on the alarm setting. If you touch the disc for two seconds we'll send in the cavalry. Only do this if absolutely necessary, if Blackstoke sees a Wakandan warrior all will be for nothing."  
She takes out a flat jeweller's box from underneath the trolley. "Here, put these on. It'll help your cover of spoiled daddy's girl." Inside are two diamond earrings in the shape of raindrops, with a matching necklace. I suck in my breath and carefully trace the necklace with my finger. This jewelry must be worth a fortune.

With the diamonds heavy around my neck and in my ears, I am ready to go. Loki looks his part too, with a dark grey suit and a white shirt. His hair is tied back in a ponytail with a leather string. I like it better when he wears all black, but he is not supposed to look good, he has to blend in.

Suddenly, a voice sounds in my head. I realise it is the communication device, transferring the sound through the bone of my skull. "Blackstone and the accountant have arrived in the bar. Meeting with two men."

"That's your cue," M'Teki says. "Good luck."

In the elevator to the cocktailbar Loki grabs my hand. His face is serious when he cups my chin, lifting my face up to meet his eyes. "Be careful, my little wolf. Do not take any risks."

"I won't. Now stop it, you are making me more nervous than I already am."

Ignoring my comment, Loki pushes his lips to mine for an urgent kiss. One hand lightly grabs my hair in my neck, while the other makes it way up the side of my ribcage, touching my breast. My breath hitches in my throat. Kissing Loki will never get old, it always feels like it's the first time.

The elevator dings to announce we have arrived at our destination. Loki releases me, putting me in front of the opening elevator doors. I feel flustered, but Loki looks calm and collected, a little bored even. I remind myself he is a way better actor than I am. Taking a deep breath I step out of the elevator. I try to push away the feeling I am in over my head. All I have to do is talk to the accountant and try to find out when his boss is planning to go to Wakanda and possibly who he has hired. No problem, right?


	3. Las Vegas - part 3: The cocktail bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way... if you're confused about Ylva's powers or why Loki doesn't have all his powers and wears those funny bracelets... You should read Coffee & Books - book 1 :-)

I spot my target at the bar, drinking a tall Weissbier. On the seat next to him is a briefcase, I'm guessing it's his. I am lucky, all the other seats at the bar are already filled. "Guten abend, is this seat taken?" I plaster my most dazzling smile to my face, cocking my head a little to the side.

The accountant turns around to me, quickly hiding his surprise when he looks me up and down. He takes his briefcase from the barstool, putting it on the floor between his feet.   
"Be my guest, miss...?"

"Anna," I tell him, taking the hand he has offered to help me in my seat.

The accountant introduces himself as Helmut Steinmeier. I already knew that of course. "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?"

"Only a little, herr Steinmeier," I smile at him.

"Helmut, bitte."  
He offers me a drink and the bartender puts a Mojito in front of me. He asks me how I knew he was German. 

I gesture to his almost empty glass of beer. "Not many Americans drink Erdinger Weissbier, so I guessed you were European at least."  
Chatting the man up isn't so hard. He is in his fifties, balding and a little overweight. The attentions of a young woman in a revealing dress are enough to loosen him up a little, just like Sharon told me. He tells me he is working for an investor that recently took up an interest in agricultural aid programs in Africa. He mentions working with the government of Wakanda and I take the chance to express my admiration of the noble intentions of King T'Challa.

Steinmeier huffs. "Easy for him to be noble. He is sitting on a gold mine of technological advancement."

"He is sharing it with the world now, isn't it?"

"Ah, that's what he wants you to think. Those Wakandans are playing it close to the chest."

I try to get him to say more about it, but to no avail. So I turn my attention to his briefcase, nudging it with my shoe. It helps that my dress reveals a good part of my leg when I do that. "Are you here for work or pleasure?"

"Work, I'm afraid," he says and when he does I can see his eyes dart to a table with three men. I recognise Mr. Blackstoke, but I don't know who the two other guys are. "But you add pleasure to my work," Helmut says with a sly grin, putting his hand on my knee.

I ignore his comment, deftly crossing my legs so his hand slides of my knee. At that moment, Mr. Blackstoke beckons for his accountant to come over. "Excuse me, liebling. I'll be right back. Save my seat, bitte." Steinmeier walks over to his boss, but not before ordering another Mojito for me. 

At the table he opens up his briefcase, taking out some papers. The two unknown men look them over and nod. They sign the papers, taking a copy for themselves. The rest goes back in the briefcase. The accountant takes out another set of papers, but these look like plans.  
"Don't stare," I hear the voice of Loki saying. I quickly switch my gaze to another area of the bar, making sure I don't look at Blackstoke's table again. Loki sits at a table near the entrance, which gives him a good view of me and most of the room.

"We need that briefcase," a female voice says. I think it's M'Teki. "Get him to leave the briefcase in his room or at the reception desk."

How am I going to do that?! I don't have much time to think on it, because Steinmeier is walking over to me again. Behind him, I can see Mr. Blackstoke watching me. When I meet his gaze, he smiles at me, holding up his glass of whiskey in a salute. I smile back, with what I hope is an innocent look on my face.

The accountant takes his seat next to me again and orders another beer. I'm still sipping my Mojito. "Helmut, you are not working the entire night, I hope? I'm sure they can keep your briefcase safe at the reception desk."  
Steinmeier looks at me and I smile again, as innocent as possible. I make sure my knee touches his leg, knowing that physical contact helps to use my limited powers on him.

"I prefer the safe in my room. I'm sure you wouldn't leave those beautiful earrings at the reception desk, liebling," he says, touching one of my earrings briefly.

"Ah yes. But I find it so hard to remember the combination of the safe. That's why I always use the same digits. Not very smart, I know." I bat my eyes at him and try to play the role of innocent blonde as good as possible. I'm hoping he'll take the bait and I touch my necklace to direct his attention to my chest. From the corner of my eye I can see Loki watching us, his face dark. "Don't you have some tips for me? I always use my year of birth as a combination. But surely you do it better?"  
My hand on his arm and Steinmeier takes the bait, explaining to me he changes the combination every day, always using the date of the next day. I praise him for his cleverness.

"I can see you found yourself some lovely company, Steinmeier," a voice interrupts us. Blackstoke has a thick British accent. "Be a good fellow and introduce me to this beautiful woman."

The accountant almost jumps from his seat, a mix of emotions on his face. But he corrects himself and introduces me to his boss. Blackstoke takes the hand I extend to him and lets his lips grace my knuckles briefly.

Blackstoke isn't what you would call a handsome man. He is in his forties, with a slightly receding hairline and a sharp nose. But he radiates confidence and power and I guess to some women that is very appealing.  
"Work is done, Steinmeier, it's time to celebrate. Put away those papers and fetch the car. We're going to the Bellagio." Steinmeier does as his boss says and hurries off with his briefcase, a last regretful look at me. Blackstoke doesn't watch his employee leave, he only has eyes for me. "Why don't you come with us, beautiful? Red is my lucky colour."

Going to the casino with Blackstoke was not part of the plan! But he takes my hand and helps me from the barstool. "Don't be shy, Anna. I can promise you I am better company than that boring accountant." Blackstoke is a man who is used to getting his way and he already escorts me to the exit of the bar. 

The voice of M'Teki instructs me to stay calm. "We'll follow you, don't worry. Use the opportunity to get intel out of Blackstoke."  
My eyes grow wide as I realise she wants me to continue my mission. 

When we come next to Loki's table, the dark haired prince gets up from his chair. "Miss Anna," he says with a nod at me, his hands folded in front of him.

Blackstoke looks from me to Loki. "Who's this? Do you have your own bodyguard?"

I have no other choice than to play along. I give Blackstoke a dazzling smile. "Daddy wants to keep me safe."

"Well, I can promise your daddy you'll be safe with me. Your boy can pick you up from the Bellagio later tonight. Or tomorrow morning, depending on how the evening goes." He winks at me and puts his hand on the small of my back to guide me out the door. "You're dismissed," he adds to Loki, who is probably seething with anger but manages to keep his composure.

 

\-----------------------------------

_As soon as Blackstoke is in the elevator with Ylva, Loki goes through the service entrance on the other end of the hall. M'Teki is already there. "My team will be waiting for them at the Bellagio. Leave it to us."_

_"That is not an option!"_

_The black woman isn't fazed by Loki's anger. "You can't go after her. Blackstoke has seen you and will get suspicious if you turn up at the casino. After all, Ylva is just supposed to be a rich girl, she can do what she want. Without a bodyguard." She emphasizes that last bit._

_"Take these off," Loki says menacing, holding up his wrists with the black bracelets. "That Blackstoke is dangerous. I am not leaving Ylva alone with him."_

_M'Teki shakes her head. "You were allowed to tag along this far. But I won't release you of your restraints just because things have gone a little differently."_

_"Take them off," Loki says again. "Or I'll barge in to the Bellagio, all guns blazing, to tell Blackstoke Wakanda is on to him."_

_M'Teki does her best to stare the God of Mischief down, but he is adamant. "Fine," she grumbles after a minute. "Hold still." She touches a bead of her bracelet and holds it to Loki's restraints. "There. You've got two hours. Don't make me regret this."_

_The prince of Asgard doesn't answer and takes off, a green light rippling across his body right before the door closes behind him._

_\-------------------------------------_

 


	4. Las Vegas - part 4: The casino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blackstoke takes Ylva to the casino. Things don't go as planned. At all.

Blackstoke is a high roller in the Bellagio casino. We are greeted by a hostess as soon as we set foot in the door. She guides us to a table near the bar and a waiter shows up at the same time, with a bottle of champagne. Steinmeier and the two other men are with us. They've introduced themselves as Igor and Boris. I guess that's not their real names, but I don't care. I just want to get out of here as soon as possible. Besides, I am not the only one who brought security tonight. I am pretty sure there are at least two men on stand by for Blackstoke. They are of the bodybuilder type, with short hair and stoic looks on their faces.

Blackstoke pours me a glass of champagne and holds his up for a toast. "To successful business and beautiful women. Cheers!"

I try to keep my cool, but my mind is racing. M'Teki has assured me her team has eyes on me, but they can't come close, to avoid discovery. That's why Loki was there in the cocktailbar. Blackstoke got rid of him in a cunning way, overrunning us to get his way. I can't help but wonder if he is on to me, to us. But right now, all he seems to want is to charm his way into my pants. Steinmeier has lost me to his boss, all the accountant can do is watch while Blackstoke touches me every chance he gets, compliments me with my looks or laughs at things I say.

"Just play hard to get," M'Teki says in my ear. "Get him to talk."

With some difficulty I manage to get our conversation directed from Blackstokes summer home on Ibiza to his business. Like Sharon told me to I take care to ask him about different parts of his business, to avoid suspicion. When I find out he owns a European shipping company I happily jump on that topic. My homeland, Holland, has some large seaports and is an important connection in the European trade business. I'm glad I can talk about something familiar.  
But I don't forget to ask about Wakanda too. "Helmut told me you are running an aid program to help the farmers in Africa. Can you tell me about it?" I bat my eyes at Blackstoke.

"Talking about agriculture is boring, my dear Anna," he says, caressing my hand that's holding the glass of champagne.

I resist the urge to move my hand and try to pour as much of my powers into my arm. "Oh, but aren't you working with Wakanda? That must be exciting! They have a lot of cool technology!"

"They do, my darling. But as always, it's not about what you have, it's what you do with it."

 _Ugh, a penis reference, really?_ But I give Blackstoke a coy smile, remembering my mission. "And will you be working with Wakandan technology too?"

Blackstoke shakes his head and his hand moves up to my shoulder, his finger hooking behind the strap of my dress. "All the vibranium is certainly interesting. But, it's like the liquor at the bar there. You'll need the barista to make you a tasty cocktail."

Then he suddenly changes the subject and I wonder if he thinks he has said too much. I'll let M'Teki and her team think about his last cryptic remark.

"Let's get you a nice drink, maybe a Sex on the Beach? And then we'll see if you really are my lucky charm." Blackstoke puts a cocktail in my hand and guides me to the floor. 

I don't know a thing about the games that are played in a casino. All I know is what I have seen in movies. Luckily Blackstoke doesn't expect much of me, he just gives me some chips at the roulette table and asks me to pick a color. I choose black, thinking of Loki. It's a lucky pick, because the little roulette ball ends up on black. That gets me a kiss on my cheek from Blackstoke, dangerously close to my mouth. His hand has also wandered across my ass a couple of times already.   
It's time to go, but he puts another chip in my hand. "Go on, darling. Pick a number, get lucky!"

I do as he says, putting the chip on number 27. The little ball does it's dance on the wheel and to my surprise I've won again! Blackstoke is euphoric and takes my face between his hands to give me a big kiss. In his enthusiasm he almost knocks out one of my earrings.

When he turns back to the table I adjust the earring to make sure it stays put. Suddenly I notice something is amiss. Didn't M'Teki put the communication device behind my right ear? I can't feel it anymore! Panicked I feel around my ear. It's not there. I look at the floor, but there are too many people here to spot such a tiny thing.

"Is something wrong, darling?"

 _Shit, shit, shit!_ "Uh, no, I just thought for a second I lost my earring."

Blackstoke gives me a thoughtful look and then shrugs. "You should take better care of your things, darling."

Shit! I must have lost it when he grabbed my face earlier. What if he did that on purpose? And worse: what if M'Teki doesn't know I lost the device? I have got to get out of here!  
"Mr. Blackstoke. I think I'm gonna have to leave you to it. I've got a headache, I should go back to my hotel."

"I don't think so, darling." He says it like it's nothing out of the ordinary, keeping his eyes on the roulette table.

"I really have a headache. I want to go back to my room."

Blackstoke gathers his chips from the roulette table and gives them to Steinmeier to hold. He turns to me, forcing me to take a step backwards, away from the people around the table. I bump into a broad chest and discover it's one of the bodybuilders.

"Let me be clear, darling. You are not going anywhere without me." Blackstokes voice is cold, but he is still smiling like nothing's wrong.  
He puts an arm around my shoulders and takes one of my hands in his. His grip hurts me, but he is too strong for me to wriggle out of it. "We're gonna take a little walk, darling. And don't forget to smile."


	5. Las Vegas - part 5: The pantry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ylva is in trouble and she is alone.

Blackstoke and his security guys have taken me to the back of the casino, where the kitchens are. They open a door and we get inside a large pantry. There is a stool to get to the upper shelves and one of the bodybuilders sits me down on it. He stands behind me, his hands firmly gripping my shoulders to keep me down. His colleague is watching the door, while Mr. Blackstoke is pacing the room.

I want to scream bloody murder, but I think that would be futile. M'Teki and her warriors should be here any second. At least, I hope so. Until then, I'm placing my bets on playing the role of innocent blonde. And it's not entirely a role, because I really am close to crying and maybe going into a full blown panic attack after that. I try to calm myself down and remind myself of the lessons in martial arts Loki gave me. I have not seen any weapons on the men, and I don't think they will kill me and leave me in the pantry in one of the biggest casinos in Vegas. They can do a lot of other things beside killing though...

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice? God, your boss must have been desperate to send in a rookie like you!" Blackstoke ridicules me. "What are you? DEA? CIA? Interpol? Or maybe FBI?" He laughs coldly. "I was planning on having a fun night with you myself, but now I think I'll leave the fun to Jackson."

The bodybuilder behind me chuckles and one of his hands reaches down to squeeze my breast. An ice cold feeling starts spreading from my spine. The fear for a panic attack is suddenly gone and it's replaced by a feeling of anger and resolve. I am not going down without a fight.

I shake the bodybuilder's hand off, still pinned down to my low seat. I glare angrily at the British man before me, but Blackstoke just smiles. "I'll see you in a bit, Jackson. Oh, and Anna, give my regards to your boss."

Blackstoke turns around and walks out the door, followed by the other bodybuilder. The man behind me chuckles again and massages my shoulders while still pushing me down on the stool. I try to concentrate on the sounds outside the pantry. I have heard Blackstoke and his crooney walk away, but I can't be sure they are back in the casino already. I don't think Blackstoke will wait for my male companion to finish whatever he has planned, but his bodybuilding buddy might. All is silent outside the door, except for the faint sounds from the kitchen a little down the hall.

"Now, what shall I do with you?" the man says above my head. At that moment he loosens his grip on my shoulders, to brush my hair from my shoulder. I jump up with all the force I can muster, hitting his nose with my head. Surprised by my attack the bodybuilder stumbles back, grabbing his face. I don't look back and sprint for the door. I peek around the corner and spot the second bodybuilder, leaning against the wall near the kitchens. He is looking at his phone, I don't think he has heard us, so I make a run for it in the other direction.

I'm only a couple of yards away when my bodybuilder appears in the doorway, yelling something inaudible. Of course he alarms his buddy and together they come after me.  
I run like my life depends on it, and for all I know it really does. I find my way to a backdoor and crash through it. There is a trash can next to it and I pull it in front of the door. When I look up through the glass of the door I see there are not two, but three men following me.

Without a second thought I run again. There are some people back here, unloading a truck. They just stare at me when I run past, my red dress trailing behind me. Men are yelling behind me and I push out a sprint.  
I race past some more trucks and then I spot a big iron gate that is wide open. There is a guard standing by the gate, but he is just dumbfounded when he spots me. 

"Help! They're after me!" I scream at him, not stopping to see what he'll do.

I end up on the street and choose to turn left. I can't run forever, I need somewhere to hide. There is a building that looks like a church and I race over to the doors.  
It is a weird church, it looks like I stepped into some sort of waiting room and I scared the hell out of the people sitting there, judging by the looks on their faces. 

"Where's the restroom?" I pant and several fingers point to a door in the back.

I hurry over and when I turn around to close the door behind me I see a man come running in to the room like I did just moments before. I stifle a scream and slam the door shut. Behind me are two extra doors, I choose the one with a lady figure on it and throw myself inside. There are a couple of bathroom stalls and there is no window. No escape.


	6. Las Vegas - part 6: The chapel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ylva has made her escape, but she's being followed.

Hiding in one of the bathroom stalls, standing on top of the toilet seat, I wait for my pursuer to find me. I hold my shoes in my hands as makeshift weapons. My heart is racing and I can barely think straight. The door handle bangs loudly against the tiled wall. 

_This is it._

Footsteps approach the stalls. I try to hold my breath, but it doesn't work because I have been running like hell.

The man who followed me in this church opens the door that hid me from view. He is tall, with short brown hair and a two day stubble.   
"There you are!", he says, taking a step forward.

"Get away from me!" I scream on the top of my lungs.

The man looks surprised for a second and then a green light ripples over his body. On the next count I am looking at Loki. "Sorry about that," he says, extending his hands to me. He barely catches me when I slip off the toilet.

Loki carries me back to the now empty waiting room bridal style and puts me in a chair. He kneels before me, adjusting my dress a little so I am decent.   
"Are you alright, my little wolf?"

I shake my head, not being able to talk just yet, my heart is still hammering in my chest. 

A woman walks in the room, a clipboard in her hand. "Good evening, lovebirds! Fill this in and we'll be ready for you in twenty minutes." She hands Loki the clipboard, who takes it without looking away from me.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got her. No thanks to you," Loki suddenly says in an annoyed voice. I realise he is still wearing the communication disc. "I'll get her back to the hotel." He peels the tiny disc from behind his ear and crushes it under his shoe.

"You were the third guy coming after me," I think out loud.

Loki nods and gives me a crooked smile. "You sure can run, my little wolf."

"And the other two?"

"I left them for M'Teki and her team to clean up. One of 'm had a broken nose before I got to him. Was that your doing?"

I nod 'yes'.

"Good girl," Loki says and he kisses my forehead.  
There is no 'I told you so', no telling me I got in way over my head. Of course I should have listened to him and stayed out of this, but he will not rub my nose in it.

When I ask him about it, Loki explains how he got M'Teki to temporarily restore his magic. He had a little trouble with casino security when Blackstoke took me to the kitchens, so Loki couldn't follow me right away.   
"There was some confusion when he took you to the back. Somehow we missed that you lost the communication device. That's why M'Teki's team was a little behind."

Recovered from the running and the shock of it all, I get up and look around the room. On the walls are large picture frames filled with photos of couples, all of them sitting in a car that came straight out of the movie Grease. I also spot Elvis, in his famous white suit with rhinestones and fringes.   
I start laughing. "Loki, do you know where we are?"

"I think I can make an educated guess," he says from close behind me.

The woman comes in again. "I hope you brought identification, my dears. Did you fill out those forms yet?"

I put my arms around Loki and give him a kiss. "What do you think? Want to get married by Elvis?"

My dark haired prince isn't as fast to react to my joke as I expected. He just looks at me with a little smile on his face, stroking my hair. "Another time, my love."  
He chuckles when he sees the shocked look on my face and softly grazes my lips with his. "Let's go, my little wolf. Hold tight."

The next moment I feel like I am in a roller coaster, plummeting down from its highest point. The feeling is gone as soon as it came and I open my eyes to see we are standing in my suite at the Mandarin Oriental. I am a bit disoriented, still holding tight onto Loki's frame.   
"You have thought about marrying me?" I ask him, full of wonder.

"You just teleported for the first time and thát is your question?"

"Yeah, well... priorities."

The prince of Asgard laughs heartily and takes me in for a hug, pulling me flush against him. "I love you, my little wolf," he whispers in my ear.

It's the first time he has ever said those three little words to me. Although he has always showed me he loves me, he has never actually said it out loud.

"I love you too," I whisper back.

Loki smiles and his finger follows the lines of my dress from my shoulder to my cleavage. "I think you promised me a night in a hotel room like this, earlier this evening." His deep voice sends a shiver up my spine. Loki's mouth follows a path from my lips, to my ear, to my collarbone, goosebumps following him where he goes.  
I wrap my arms around his neck and he picks me up, my legs around his waist. My prince walks to the bed and gently lowers me on the soft mattress. He resumes his path of kisses, taking of my dress as he goes down my chest, pausing on my breasts and then on to my stomach.

There is a knock on the door. "Go away," Loki grumbles, tugging at the edge of my panties with his teeth.  
Somebody knocks again, louder this time. "Oh, for the love of Odin!" Loki gives me a last kiss and gets up from the bed. "Sorry, my love. Hold that thought."  
He walks to the door and all of a sudden I find myself properly dressed in my red dress again. Loki has his magic back alright.

There are two black women at the door,  dressed in red and carrying spears. They stride in as soon as Loki sets a step backwards. The spears tud to the floor and a man walks in behind them.

"King T'Challa!" I recognise him from the news and am surprised to see him here. Quickly I walk over to our new company.

"Miss Frederikson," he says in his typical accent, taking my hands in his. "Please accept my sincerest apologies for the predicament you found yourself in on behalf of my country."

"Yeah, it was a bit more than I bargained for."

"We did not foresee this happening. But, you did give us valuable intelligence. You have my thanks for that. We have doubled the protection around my sister, Shuri."

I think about that for a second. "She is the one that makes the cocktails," I say when comprehension sinks in.

King T'Challa nods and smiles. "But what we don't know is why Blackstoke turned on you like that. You got of our radar for a second. What happened?"

I explain how Blackstoke knocked the communication device off, intentional or by accident, and did not let me leave. "He said he was on to me. That my boss must be desperate to send in a rookie."

"Did he know it was Wakanda?"

I shake my head. "I don't think so. He asked if I was DEA or CIA, things like that."

King T'Challa thinks for a while. "He must have thought you were there because of his drugs business. According to Interpol, the two men he met with tonight are linked to a large drugs syndicate. It seems Blackstoke is making a deal with them. Maybe your questions about Holland triggered him. After all, your home country is a large player on the drugs market."

The king of Wakanda inclines his head to me and tells me once again he is thankful for what I have done tonight. "It is a good thing you have prince Loki as your protector. I wish you all the best. I have arranged for you two to stay an extra night in this hotel. Your flight to New York will leave on monday. Tickets are waiting for you at the reception desk."  
He turns to Loki. "M'Teki told me she gave you two hours. I guess they are almost up. I'm afraid there is not much I can do about that. But you have my thanks as well."

The three Wakandans leave the room after that. With a king size bed, a bathtub large enough to fit two persons and room service, there is no reason for Loki and me to leave the luxurious suite.

On monday I settle in my first class seat on the plane. Loki is reading a book he bought on the airport. It's 'Doctor No' by Ian Fleming, I picked it out for him. Holding the book in one hand, he is softly tracing invisible lines across my hand and wrist with the other.  
I am still rosy from the last two nights and days. Away from anyone we know, Loki was more relaxed than ever. It was just the two of us and it felt so good. I will certainly give Sharon an ear full when I get back, but for now I am perfectly content with my dark haired prince beside me.  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last chapter of the Las Vegas story. Next up is a new short story.


	7. Sly Fox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Halloween and Ylva finds a sly way to get back at agent Wilde for kidnapping her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was writing 'Coffee & Books' I never intentioned to make a reference to Zootopia (love that movie by the way!!). But when readers mentioned it, I kinda loved how S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Gary Wilde shared a name with the fox Nick Wilde.
> 
> And then I found a way to incorporate Nick Wilde into a 'Coffee & Books' story! So this one is dedicated to all my readers, who never cease to amaze me with their kind comments, inventful theories and funny remarks.
> 
> Enjoy!

With some pins I fasten the white lace cap in my hair, low pigtails peeping out from underneath it at both sides. I'm wearing a pinafore dress with a wide skirt, little windmills and tulips printed all over the white and blue fabric. Underneath is a white blouse and I'm wearing knee high socks with small orange bows on the sides. Each pigtail is also endowed with orange hair elastics with bows.   
I look like a ridiculously over the top tourist version of a Dutch farmer girl, the only thing missing is a pair of wooden clogs. Hannah, my step-brother's wife, made me the pinafore and shipped it to me from Holland. I feel a bit awkward in it, but I'm happy to put up with my outfit for today. I wanted a Dutch costume and I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.   
The only things that resemble the true folkloric dress of my home country are the lace cap and the blood coral beaded necklace I'm wearing. It's just a single string of beads, one part of a multi-string necklace that has been passed down in my step-father's family for generations. He gifted it to me when I turned 18. I took it with me to New York as a token from home and it's perfect for my costume today.

When I get downstairs in the coffee shop, Thomas pushes a heap of pumpkin streamers in my hands.  
"Here, you hold this end, I do the other end." He climbs up on the stepladder and hangs the streamers from the ceiling above the counter.

"Aye-aye Captain!" I salute him. Thomas is dressed as a naval officer in a white suit and he looks very handsome. "Didn't we put up all the decorations yesterday already?"

"You can never have enough pumpkin jack streamers," Thomas states. His voice sounds a bit muffled because of the tack pins he is holding between his lips.

"Don't swallow one of those," I remark, holding up the streamers for him. Thomas just rolls his eyes and pins another streamer to the ceiling.

In the kitchen I find my cousin Lisa and her boyfriend Marc. They're making lemonade and muffins. We're expecting a big crowd today and it's all hands on deck, that's why Marc is here to help us out.

When I see their outfits I practically scream with joy. "Oh my gods! You guys look amazing!"   
They have dressed up as Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. The result is utterly adorable.

"Marc's idea," Lisa says defensively, as if I can't see she knows she looks good in her cowgirl outfit.

"You look good too, Ylva," Marc offers, filling up another pitcher with blood red lemonade. He tops it off with a hand full of candy vampire teeth. "The cap is cute."

"Thanks, I feel a bit daft in this outfit, but I'll live." I touch the lace cap on my head self-consciously.

"Nonsense, honey! You look great!" aunt Yvonne says from behind me. She pushes me aside to get into the kitchen. She's wearing a brightly coloured Caribbean dress and a hat with fruits and flowers. All that is missing is a colourful cocktail with a paper umbrella.

The whole staff dressed up. Emilia came as Catwoman and her sister Gabriela is wearing a witch costume. Even uncle Lars put out, he's dressed as a distinguished British gentleman, complete with bowler hat and monocle. It's Halloween and at Coffee & Books that means it's time for our annual kids costume competition.

"What time will Thor be here?" Yvonne asks me. The fruits and flowers on her head bob with every move.

"I told him 10:30 at the latest. You want to do the prize ceremony at 11, right?"

Yvonne nods. "It's great that he agreed to judge the costumes!"

"Thor does everything for your muffins," I smirk.

Pretty soon, the place is crawling with kids and their parents. There are three mini-Thors, I saw an Iron Man or two and at least four Captain America's. We play games, dance to music and all the while the staff of Coffee & Books keep the trays with muffins and lemonade coming.   
A little after 9:30 Tova and Astera come in, with six Asgardian children in tow. They're all dressed up as animals: I see a dog, two cats, a mouse, a frog and a tiger. Tova and Astera are wearing bird costumes, with multi-coloured wings attached to their sleeves and feather headbands. The costumes are all handmade by the girls, with a little help from the royal seamstress Brunnhyld. My friends jumped at the chance to play dress up when I told them about Halloween and the contest at Coffee & Books.

I hold out a cup of blood lemonade to a 5 year old girl who is dressed as a bunny cop. I recognise her as the main character of Disney's 'Zootopia'. "Well, hello officer Hopps! Would you like some lemonade?"  
The girl is delighted I recognised her. Her father nudges her to say thank you, he is dressed up too. "I see you brought your partner," I tell the girl. "Do foxes like lemonade too?"  
She nodds fervently and looks up to her father. He is looking the part, with a police uniform, a fox tail and fox ears.

And then I recognise him. "Hello, Gary."  
For a moment we just stare at each other. I don't have fond memories of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who kidnapped me. Every now and then I still have nightmares from being in that lab. I haven't seen agent Wilde since that night as he was promptly removed from Loki's detail, courtesy of Tony Stark.  
I always thought I would kick him in the nuts whenever I saw him again, but this is hardly the time and place to do that. Especially with his daughter standing next to him. Still, I'd like to get back at him for what he did to me. And I think he knows that, because he's certainly feeling awkward about seeing me.

When I look at his fox attire and face paint, I suddenly know what to do. I hand him his lemonade and grab my phone from my apron. "You make a good Nick Wilde, Gary," I tell a confused looking agent Wilde. "Smile for the camera!"  
I tuck my phone away and smirk at him. My revenge is gonna be sweet!

 

_***_

 

"Thor!"  
"Thor is here!"  
"That is Thor!"  
The kids scream and yell and run to the windows. Outside the coffee shop is a black limousine. Thor just got out, wearing his casual clothes. I'm a little disappointed, I'd hoped he would wear his armour. But the kids recognise him anyway and that's the most important part. Behind him, a figure in black steps out of the car.

"No way! He dressed up too! I never would've thought." Thomas is staring out the window, just like me. I can't believe my eyes. Loki is wearing a black three piece suit with a white frilly shirt and a black cape with blood red lining.  
"Girl, that is one hot Dracula!" Thomas voices my thoughts. I can only nodd, my jaw slack.

Thor waves at the kids, who cheer and holler in response. They scream even harder when he balls his fists and lets lightning spark from his hands. Thunder cracks and for a second the king of Asgard is engulfed in a ball of lightning. A little girl dressed like Piglet starts crying. Her father picks her up on his arm, but continues to film the spectacle outside with his phone. Thor comes inside in full armour, billowing red cape included.  
Thomas points out all the phones directed at Thor. "That is gonna go viral in no time."

The kids swarm around Thor and he is dealing out high fives all around him. Little Piglet has stopped crying, mostly because she's nibbling on a muffin Lisa gave her.

I put my empty tray down on the counter and turn around to check the room. A cool hand touches my cheek and gently tugs my hair.  
"Pigtails, hm? You look cute." Loki leans down for a quick kiss.

"Thank you for coming," I smile at him. "I thought you had other things to do."

Loki shrugs. "It could wait."

"Just admit that you couldn't pass up on playing dress up," I tease.

"He doesn't have to admit that. Everybody _knows_  it already." Thor's booming laugh fills the room.

"What?! I look good in a cape!" Loki smirks.

I shake my head, laughing. Loki has kept a low profile here on Earth, but when he gets the chance to show off, he grabs it with both hands.  
When I catch sight of some fox ears I put my hand on Loki's arm. "You know who's here too? Gary."

For a second Loki doesn't know who I'm talking about, but then his head snaps up. "Where?"

"He's with his kid. A bunny police officer. And he's a fox."

Loki's eyes scan the crowd and come to rest on Gary Wilde's back. His face darkens at the sight of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "What's he doing here?"

"Same as every other parent, having fun with his kid." I tug at Loki's arm to make him look at me. "I have an idea to mess with him, but I need to call Stark. You have his number, right?"

Loki takes out his phone and hands it to me. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'll tell you in a bit."

Inside the little office I scroll through Loki's contacts and press 'Stark'.  
"Uncle Scar, what's up?" sounds the voice of Tony Stark after a couple of rings.

"Hello Tony, it's Ylva actually. I need a favour."

Tony doesn't seem fazed. "A favour? Well, what's in it for me?"

We settle the price on a box of muffins before Stark asks what I need from him.  
"Do you have access to the personnel files of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Yes..." Stark is suspicious, but when I explain what I want him to do he barks out a laugh. "The God of Mischief's ways rub off on you! But alright, I'll see what I can do. Send me that pic and I'll get back to you."

"Thanks Tony!"

"Don't thank me, just bring me those muffins."

When I get back in the coffee shop Yvonne and Lisa have arranged for some peace and quiet by making the kids sit down around Thor. The king of Asgard sits on a chair in the middle and is answering questions.  
A girl dressed as a princess puts up her hand, I think she's about 7 years old. "Is that real electricity in your hands?"

"Yes, it is," Thor says pleasantly.

"Can I see?"

"Sure." Thor waves her over and makes her stand before him. He spreads the fingers of his hand and little sparks jump between his fingers. The girl squeals and is all giddy when she sits down again.

I'm filling up cups with green lemonade while watching Thor and the kids. Loki sits on the other side of the counter, Tova and Astera next to him. Three cups of tea sit steaming on the bar. One of the mini-Thors stands up to ask his big hero a question. "Where is your hammer?"

The God of Thunder is a bit taken aback by the question. By now I have learned the true story of how Hela destroyed the hammer, but that's not common knowledge. As far as the general public knows, Thor always wields a hammer in battle. The little Thors all have their own plastic hammer.

"Uhm... my older sister took it from me," Thor eventually says.

"That is mean!" the princess from before calls out and several other kids join in. "Yeah! She's a meanie!"

"My sister is mean to me too," mini-Thor says. "Well... sometimes."

"Yes, siblings can be mean sometimes," Thor admits with a smile. Loki cocks an eyebrow at that statement.

"Can't you ask it back?" a mini-fireman asks out loud.

Thor shakes his head. "I can't. She broke it." He looks sad when he says it and the kids take pity. The princess comes up to him and gives him a hug. Thor awkwardly puts his big arm around her to pat her back.

"Aww..." Next to me Lisa bites her lip. I have stopped pouring lemonade to watch Thor bonding with the kids. It's like Disney and Pixar all rolled into one, with a little sugar on top. It's too cute!

Mini-Thor walks up to Thor and holds out his plastic hammer. "You can have mine, Mr. Thor."

"Damn it, I'm gonna cry," Lisa mutters under her breath and I grab her hand because I feel exactly the same. In front of me, Tova even sniffles and Astera is also moved by what happens. Only Loki keeps a straight face, but he has over a thousand years of practice.

Thor stares at the kid for a long moment before he folds his big hands around the small hand with the hammer. "That's real nice of you, but you can keep it. I'm not worthy of this mighty weapon right here. You are the only one who can lift it."

The boy walks back to his place with a proud grin and aunt Yvonne announces it's time for the prizegiving. One of the Asgardian boys dressed up as a dog ends in third place. Second place is for the princess and officer Judy Hopps wins first prize.

After that the place slowly empties and we start to clean up. We're closed for lunch today so our regular guests won't have to sit in the mess that our kids party has left behind.  
Tova and Astera have taken the kids home, but Thor and Loki stayed to help clean up. Aunt Yvonne has made tomato soup and sandwiches for lunch and we all sit at the large table in the middle of the coffee shop.

After emptying his plate Loki leans back and puts his arm on the back of my chair. "Now, tell me, what did you want from Stark? Why did you need his help to mess with Wilde?"

"Let me check my phone, maybe Stark has already done it." Sure enough, there's a new email in my inbox. It's from Tony Stark. 'For the Goddess of Mischief' it says in the subject box.

I open the attachment and immediately start laughing. Loki takes my phone from me and grins wide when he sees it. Agent Gary Wilde has a new picture on his S.H.I.E.L.D. badge, one with whiskers and fox ears.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of Sly Fox. Next up is a new short story.


	8. The countryside - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ylva shows Loki her home country: the rural parts of Holland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When writing 'Coffee & Books' I put Loki in a very 'down to earth' environment. The God of Mischief was leading a somewhat normal life on Midgard. I'm taking that a step further in this short story. It started off as a oneshot, but I had too much fun writing about Loki and Ylva again, so it turned out to be more than just a oneshot. :-)
> 
> Ylva is visiting her family in Holland and Loki joins her for a vacation before they will be moving to Norway with the Asgardian people. 
> 
> The setting is the Dutch countryside (a province called 'Zeeland'), where I live. Welcome in my world :-)
> 
> Also, this story has a bit of a weird place on the Coffee & Books timeline. It floats around a bit, because I wrote this for book 2, but technically this happens after book 3 (which I am still writing). Maybe it's best to see this as a separate story :-)

"Do you want to do something typical Dutch?" I look at Loki expectantly, eager to tell him of my plans. He is staying with me and my family before we'll travel to the new Asgardian settlement in Norway. So far he had met my mother, step dad, my step brother, his wife and their new baby and my best friend from college, Sofie. I want to show him how my life was here in Holland, before I went to New York to work in the coffee shop where I met my Asgardian prince. So, I want to do something with him that I did every summer since I was a little kid.

Loki looks up from his laptop to me, he had been checking his email. Now the Asgardians lived on Earth, they used Earth tech. Loki was better at it than Thor, the King of Asgard could just barely send an email or call someone with his smartphone. Still, I had to help Loki every now and then too. But now he closes his laptop and turns to me.

"What do you want to do, little wolf? Stand in a field of tulips and smoke marijuana?"

I roll my eyes in response. The images you get when you Google my country aren't all flattering, or correct, for that matter. "No, I want to go camping!"

Loki frowns and looks a little confused. "What do you mean with camping?"

I hop on the kitchen table, next to his laptop, letting my feet dangle. "You know, sleep in a little tent, at a campsite. Didn't you ever do that on Asgard?"

"We did," Loki says slowly. "But only when we had survival training or went to war." He cocks his eyebrow at me. "Do you want to go to war?"

"No!" But I stop when I see his face. "You miss the action, do you?"

My dark haired prince shrugs. "I don't know. All I get to do is fight Thor or Heimdall in a gym. You humans are all so fragile and squeamish."

I swing my leg over so I can drop myself to straddle his lap, grabbing his shirt in my fists as I do. "Do you call me squeamish?! Or fragile?" I try to make my voice sound menacing, but fail miserably. Especially when Loki puts his cool hands under my T-shirt.

"No, but I do call you ticklish!"

I let out a high squeal and try to fight Loki off, but he's too strong. Besides, he knows where to find all the right spots. For tickling, but also for other, more pleasurable things. I still in his grasp when he finds a particularly nice spot with his lips, right below my ear.  
"Does camping mean I'm going to be in a little tent with you?" Loki purrs. He nips at my earlobe, his hands travelling up against my bare skin.

"It does," I say softly, before finding his lips with my own. I slide my arms around his neck and arch myself against him.

A polite cough behind us makes us lose our grip on each other in an instant. I look up to see my mother standing in the door to the kitchen. I can be 28 years old, but it's still awkward.  
"Hello, Astrid," Loki says, turning his head to her without losing his grip on my hips. I want to get up from his lap, but he's holding me down. There's a sparkle in his eyes when I glare at him, he's not called the God of Mischief for his love of playing nice all the time. But as his girlfriend, I have some tricks of my own.  
He hisses and pulls his arm back, rubbing the red imprint of my nails on the inside of his lower arm. I stick my tongue out and step away from him. However, I do blow a kiss to him behind my mom's back.

"Are you guys going to visit Bert and Wilma tomorrow?" my mother asks, turning on the coffee maker. She holds up a cup to signal if we want some too.

"Tea, please," Loki answers. "Who are Bert and Wilma?"

"My grandparents," I tell him. "The reason we're going camping." I explain to him my step dad's parents have a permanent spot on a campsite in the countryside. "As soon as the temperature goes up, they drive to the campsite. They actually live there for at least half of the year. It's a small campsite on a farm, it's great there!"

"Camping, a farm, this just keeps on getting better," Loki mutters.

"Not everybody grew up in a palace, Prince Charming," I throw back at him. "And you'll love my grandparents, they're wonderful people!"

***

The next day we're in the car, driving to the campsite that is my grandparents' home for a large part of the year. In the trunk is an overnight bag for the both of us, two sleeping bags and my small tent. It's like a small igloo, just big enough for two people. I haven't told Loki yet we'll be sleeping on an air bed, he was pouting enough as it is already.

I'm behind the wheel, as Loki refuses to learn how to drive. I'm not exactly sure why, but it has something to do with not wanting to become 'too human'. He does a lot of other things that are perfectly human and down to earth, like making me breakfast, so I just let it slide. I don't mind driving anyway. I did have to get used to it again when I came back to Holland after living in New York for over a year, in the city I mostly used public transport or a taxi.  
A biggest hits album of Oasis is playing on the car stereo. Loki picked it out from the stack of CD's in the dashboard. What can I say? This car is my mother's and she has a thing for British bands.  
When Loki saw the little green car for the first time when I picked him up at the airport he almost hurt himself laughing. He stopped when I threatened he'd have to walk home if he didn't treat 'little pea' with some respect. He managed to hold in his laughing about the pet name for the car until we were on the highway and it was too late for me to kick him out. Not that I would actually do that, I was way too happy to have Loki with me again, we spent six weeks apart and it had felt like six months.

"Bert and Wilma unfortunately don't speak English, so I'll have to translate for you. Do you remember how to say it's nice to meet them?"

Loki humors me and carefully pronounces the Dutch phrase I taught him. He knows how much I love my grandparents and he's willing to make an effort. He's been doing that from the moment he met my family. They were not exactly supportive when I started seeing Loki, as it turned out to be rather dangerous to be close to the prince of Asgard. But the heart doesn't always listen to reason and after a while my parents accepted my choices.

"What do they know of me?" Loki wants to know.

"Very little," I admit. "That you're from New York and that I'm going with you and your family to Norway."

"My family?"

"Yeah, that was easier than explaining you and your people came from outer space after your world was destroyed by an enormous fire demon, in order to stop your killer sister."

"You seem to have no problem explaining that," Loki chuckles.

"Loki! They're almost 80 years old, I don't want to give them a heart attack!" I swat at his leg and he grabs my hand to hold it, weaving our fingers together.

"Don't worry. I'll play along. So, no magic, I take it?"

"No, and don't you dare telling them about my abilities too!"

Only my mom knows about that and she barely believes it. As far as anyone else is concerned, I'm just regular old Ylva. Of course most of my family knows Loki is from Asgard, it had been all over the news worldwide that the people of Asgard found refuge on Earth after their realm was destroyed. Thor and Loki were kind of the poster boys for the Asgardian people, giving them a celebrity status.  
But my grandparents have not connected the dots yet, so I'll just keep it that way. They were already impressed by the fact my boyfriend lives in the United States. It doesn't matter anyway. They're lovely people and the only grandparents I have left, I just want to introduce them to the man I love.


	9. The countryside - part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Ylva arrive at the farm and make themselves at home.

I turn off the main road and not long after that we find ourselves between the fields. On our right is a large field with the familiar black and white cows, on the other side a farmer is shaping the earth with his tractor, to plant potatoes in neat rows.  
The road leads up a dike and we drive between the high trees that line up on each side of the road. All sorts of field flowers grow underneath the trees, the grass has not been mowed yet, so everything is still growing freely.  
"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" I ask Loki.

He nods in response. "It is, my little wolf. It sure is. Are we nearly there yet?"

"Yep. It's at the end of this dike. There, with the red roof, that's the farm." A few hundred meters ahead the roof of a large barn is visible between the trees. There are apple and pear orchards around us now, most of the trees already carrying their lovely white blossom. Fruit is the main business of the farm, next to their campsite.

I park the car in the small parking lot to the side of the barn, next to a forklift they use to move the big apple crates. When we get out of the car, someone calls my name. Marie, the farmer's wife, jogs over to me and takes me in for a hug.  
"Ylva! It's so good to see you again! Your grandmother told me you were coming. How are you, my dear? It's been too long!"

I giggle at the waterfall of words, Marie might very well hold the unofficial record for speed talking. "I'm good, Marie. Nice to see you again too, you look great!" I turn to Loki, who stands by the car. "This is my boyfriend, Loki."

Marie walks up to him and pumps his hand with all her usual enthusiasm, immediately talking his ears off in Dutch.  
Loki stops her mid sentence. "I'm sorry, madam. I'm afraid I can't understand you. But it's nice to meet you."

The farmer's wife looks at him for a second and then slaps her forehead before she continues in English. "Excuse me! I totally forgot you are from the States! Welcome on our farm. I'd offer to give you a tour, but I have some other things to do right now. Ylva can do it, she knows her way around here. You know she's been coming here ever since she was a little girl with pigtails in her hair?"

I take Loki's hand to rescue him from Marie's unstoppable stream of words. "I'll be sure to show him around, Marie. But we'll go see my grandparents first."

Marie waves us off and I take Loki to the campsite behind the barn. There are two fields, surrounded by trees. Each field has space for about ten caravans or tents and has a sandpit and a swing or seesaw in the middle for the kids. My grandparents have a spot at the back of the first field and I can already see them sitting in their foldable chairs in front of their trailer.  
When they see us coming they get up and welcome us with open arms. It's a bit awkward at first, mainly because I have to translate everything, but we soon find a rhythm. And Loki is content with listening to us talk in Dutch too. He has picked up a few words in the short time he has been here, so he understands some common phrases.

My grandmother is gushing about how Loki is such a handsome gentleman. She loves that he wears dress pants and a shirt, even when he is here on the campsite. I think Loki would rather kill himself than be found in cargo shorts, but that's not something to tell your grandmother. So instead, I just say he always dresses sharp.  
"Kids nowadays don't do that anymore, you know," my nan says. "Last week I saw your cousin Vinny and he had holes in his jeans! He bought 'm like that in the store, can you believe that?"

After tea we grab our things from the trunk of the car to set up the tent.  
"Watch, I can do magic!" I call out to Loki, the folded up tent in my hands.  
I throw the round shape in the air and it pops open, hitting the ground sideways. Loki just watches, one eyebrow cocked, pretending not to be impressed. Or, knowing Loki, he doesn't pretend at all. He likes smartphones, but that's about it when it comes to Earth stuff. I stick out my tongue and put the tent right side up. These little pop up tents are great, no Asgardian prince can convince me otherwise.  
"Can you hand me the pegs?"  
Loki tosses me the little bag with metal pegs which I use to secure the tent to the ground. I've picked a spot in the far corner of the field, a little hidden behind the caravan.  
"Now it's your turn!" I hand Loki the empty air mattress and a foot pump.

He looks at me like he sees water burning. "What am I supposed to do with these?"

"That's our bed. You can inflate it with the pump."

"You're kidding."

"Nope." I shake my head, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Loki looks very much out of his element. Because he looks so helpless, I decide to put him out of his misery after a few moments by taking over the air mattress and the pump.  
"Here, let me."

When he sees how it's done, Loki takes over from me again. Despite being raised as a prince with servants at his beck and call, he doesn't feel above mundane tasks, especially not when it's just us. Being in a relationship with Loki is like being with a regular guy most of the time, if you forget about the magic and the fact that he is about forty times my age and from outer space. But even princes from Asgard can inflate an air mattress. I unzip the tent and push the double sized air mattress in, it pretty much fills up the whole space.  
"Cosy," Loki remarks in a sarcastic tone, looking over my shoulder inside the tent.

I toss the sleeping bags and our overnight bag inside. "I thought you liked sharing a bed with me," I answer, turning to my dark haired prince.

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. "You know I do," he says in his deep voice and starts planting little kisses along my jawline. "A bed... a couch... the kitchen table... the backseat of that silly green car..."

"Sshh! Loki!" I push him away a little, looking around if someone might hear us.

He just laughs and playfully slaps my butt. "It's not like they can understand a word I'm saying, love. I can talk dirty all I want and your grandma still adores me."

"Speaking of my loving nan, let's see if we can help making dinner." I take Loki's hand and pull him with me to the front of the caravan.

My grandmother is already chopping vegetables and she waves my offer to help away. "Why don't you give Loki a tour of the farm? One of the horses just had a foal, it's such a cute little thing."  
She shoos us off. "Go, dinner will be ready in an hour."

I show Loki around the farm, starting witch the orchard right behind our tent. We walk between the fruit trees and Loki tells me about the orchards on Asgard. The food there was similar to that on Earth, only sometimes bigger or smaller, or with a slightly different taste or texture.  
We walk around the farmstead until we end up at the stables. I tell Loki I always used to help with the horses when I spent the summer holidays with my grandparents.  
"You ride?" He looks surprised.

"I do. Not that well, but good enough."

Loki puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him. "You never told me that."

I shrug and smile. "It never came up. There aren't that many horses in Manhattan."

We walk inside the barn and spot the mother and her new foal right away.  
"Aww, Sizzle had a baby! Look at that, Loki, isn't he cute?"

"The pony's name is Sizzle?" Loki arches his eyebrow at me, but he is soon distracted by the newborn stallion that nuzzles his hand to check if he has something for him. The colt is a light shade of brown, just like his mother. Their names are written on a sign on the outside of their stable, they named the foal Spark.

"Sizzle and Spark, now that's a dynamic duo." I grin wide.

"It's ridiculous," Loki mutters, though he smiles nevertheless.  
This may very well be the first time he's around horses since he came to Earth, it's not like the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. have a cavalerie division.

The sound of hooves makes us turn around. Paul comes in, leading a large black horse to his stall.  
"Ylva, great to see you again! And you must be Loki, nice to meet you." Paul gives Loki a hand and me a hug after he has closed the gate behind the horse. His wife must have told him about Loki, as he is speaking English from the start.

"Beautiful horse you have here, sir," Loki says, stroking the gelding over his strong neck.

"That's Hunter, he is a looker, isn't he? Do you ride?"

"I do. I mean, I used to, back home." Loki's eyes glaze over a little when he mentions home. "I had a black stallion, he was called Bjornir."  
His voice is sad and I really feel for him. He doesn't talk about Ragnarok much, but obviously he has lost a lot, if not almost everything, with the destruction of his realm. I move a little closer to Loki and quietly take his hand in mine. He squeezes my hand and I know I don't have to say anything.

Hunter pushes his large head against Loki's shoulder when the Asgardian stops petting him. Loki humours the horse and scratches him behind his ears.  
"Hunter likes you," Paul says. "If you want, you can take him out for a ride after dinner?" He probably picked up on Loki's sad mood, but he doesn't ask about it.

"That would be great, sir, thank you!" Loki immediately perks up and I'm grateful for Paul's offer.

"I'm gonna bring Daisy in too, Ylva. You can ride her, if you want."

"Thanks, Paul. I'd love to ride again!"

"Sure thing, kid. You still know where to find everything?"

"Yes, I think so. Thanks again!" I'm giddy with the prospect of a ride this evening. I've ridden Daisy before, she's a gentle pony, just a little smaller than a horse. Hunter is more spirited, but I think Loki has enough experience on a horseback to handle the gelding without a problem.  
Paul greets us and leaves the barn to get Daisy out of the paddock. I do a quick check of the tack room, but everything is as I remember. It's time for dinner, so we hurry back to my grandparents' trailer.


	10. The countryside - part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Ylva go riding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mature content.

After dinner we do the dishes and then we return to the stables. Inside the tack room, where nobody can see us, Loki changes our outfits to something more suitable for horseback riding. When your boyfriend has that kind of magic, you almost don't have to pack a bag anymore. Not that the clothes he conjured up for me are regular equestrian garments, not for Earth anyway. I'm now wearing breaches of supple, dark leather, underneath a black tailored jacket made of a heavy knitted fabric. Loki is wearing something similar, but of course in his usual black and green. He even gave us riding boots.

I can see Loki is a practiced horseman by the way he handles Hunter. Even though horse and rider have just met each other, Loki seems to have some natural dominance over the animal. And my dark haired prince really enjoys it, he is smiling the whole time. I'm glad Paul gave us the chance to go riding, it's nice to see Loki do something he knows and feels at ease with. Although the God of Mischief is a master at adapting, I know it takes an effort to adjust to this new life here on Earth.

It doesn't take long before we're both ready to go and we mount our horses.  
"Lead the way, my lady," Loki says courteously, taking the reins of Hunter to make the large horse walk next to my pony.

The farm is beautifully situated in the middle of a network of long winding roads on top of dikes. The dikes frame the different fields and orchards, some parts are very old, thick trees lining up along the sides of the road. We ride next to each other at a slow pace, enjoying the views.  
"Your country is beautiful, my little wolf," Loki says, looking up at the crowns of the trees that touch each other above our heads.

"I'm glad you like it," I answer. I love seeing Loki this relaxed. The past few months he has been very busy preparing the move to Norway for his people and he has been under a lot of stress. It's not easy to move hundreds of people at the same time. Of course, he's not doing it all on his own, but Thor has other duties with the Avengers, so lots of responsibilities fell to Loki and Heimdall. These two weeks here with me in Holland are like a vacation, right before the actual transatlantic move from New York to Norway.

We don't talk much, we just enjoy being out with the horses, surrounded by the beautiful countryside. My pony seems to be content with our leisurely pace, but the black gelding is a bit restless. He's got some energy to spare.  
"May I?" Loki asks, and I nod my consent.

He gives Hunter some more rein and the horse doesn't need his rider to spur him on to pick up the pace. The black gelding gallops along the grassy shoulder, kicking up some grass clumps on places where the ground is soft. Loki doesn't push the horse, he just lets it run at his own speed. When Daisy sees her friend running off she starts to go into a trot, but the black horse is too fast for her and soon she's back to her normal walk again.  
I pat her on the neck. "Don't worry, Daisy. The boys will be back soon."

The horse whinnies as if she understands me and we continue down the road. I've lost sight of Loki behind a turn in the road, but before long the dark horse and rider show up in my view again. When we reach each other we stop in the middle of the road, our mounts almost pressed together. Loki pushes his hair back from his face, both horse and rider look a little heated from their run.  
"By the gods, I've missed this," he says, smiling from ear to ear.

He leans over and places his hand on my saddle, steadying himself so he can kiss me.  
"Thank you for bringing me here, my little wolf."

"You're welcome, babe," I answer, giving him another kiss before he straightens in his saddle again. "We've got to turn back, the sun will be setting soon."

When the red roof of the farm is in sight again, Loki spurs Hunter on one last time. Daisy goes after them in a slow trot and we reach the stables a couple of minutes behind the boys. Loki has already tied Hunter to a metal ring on the wall and he takes Daisy's reins when I get there. I dismount the pony and Loki pulls me to him, wrapping his free arm around my waist to keep me close. His lips find mine and I put my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. We get disturbed by the big warm nose of Daisy pushing against the back of my head, causing us both to laugh.

"Come on, let's take care of the horses." Loki takes Daisy inside the barn while I go get the grooming kit from the tack room. We put their halters on and curry our horses before we put them back in their stall. After that, we put the gear back in the tack room.

When I reach up to hang Hunter's bridle on the peg, two hands snake up under my jacket from behind. Loki's cool fingers trace circular patterns on my skin.  
"Loki, not here," I tell him halfheartedly.

Of course he just ignores me, pushing my hair to the side with his chin to get to my neck. His kisses and touch give me goosebumps, in all the good ways. A little moan escapes my lips when Loki sucks on the sensitive skin just above my collarbone. It's all the incentive he needs for making my jacket disappear, leaving me in just my bra.  
"So much for being subtle," I chuckle, knowing there is little chance someone will walk in on us here. All the horses are in their stalls, in for the night, and the only persons here are me and the tall Asgardian prince pressed up against my back.

"Who said anything about being subtle?" Loki says in a husky voice, his hands cupping my breasts over my bra. He keeps on kissing my neck and shoulders and hooks a long, slender finger behind my bra strap. One hand pulls the straps down, while the other hand unbuttons my pants.

I gasp when his hand slips down my pants, his fingers confident and knowing when it comes to finding my most sensitive spot. After a few minutes he turns me around in his arms, stoops down a little and hoists me up with his strong hands under my butt. Our lips crash together, warm and wet. A cold breeze on my legs tells me my pants have gone too. Loki puts me up on an empty saddle stand, pushing my legs apart to stand between them.

I slowly undo the buttons of his riding jacket, all my concentration focussed on kissing Loki and his hand between my legs, until he makes the jacket and his shirt disappear too. My hands slide over his chest, around his ribcage to his back and down to his sculpted ass. I pull him against me, feeling him hard and firm against my core.  
"I love you, I want you," I whisper in his ear, nipping at his earlobe.

The last pieces of fabric that covered us melt away and now it's just my heated skin against his slightly cooler body.  
"I love you too, my little wolf." Loki's voice is barely more than a low growl. He grabs hold of my hips and I can feel him line up against my hot core.  
"Brace yourself," he warns in his low voice and I cling to him.

At first I manage to keep my voice down, but it gets harder and harder to control the sounds that escape me. I bury my head against Loki's shoulder to keep from reacting to loud to his lovemaking. His rhythm, the way he rolls his hips against me, he knows exactly what to do to build up the tension inside of me, until I find a shuddering release. He clamps his hand over my mouth to keep me silent and I bite down, covering his hand in kisses when I spiral back down to Earth again.

"Turn around," Loki says in a husky voice and helps me slide down from the saddle stand.  
I turn my back to him, rocking my hips against him, getting a throaty moan from him as my reward. I lean over the saddle stand as Loki's big hands stroke my back, from the nape of my neck down to the curves of my hips. His hand goes up again and he trails one of his fingernails down my spine. I arch my back under the soft scratch of his finger, pushing back against him.  
"So eager," Loki says with a growly chuckle, but he doesn't wait to comply to my wordless request.

His long, deep strokes combined with the touch of his hands build up the tension inside me again. I can feel the knot growing deep down in my stomach. I tense up around him and Loki reacts by turning up the pace.  
"Come for me, my love," he whispers hoarsely and it is all I need to send me over the edge.

My body clamps down on him and Loki finds his own release within me. He leans down and folds his arms around me, holding us both steady. After a few moments he turns me around and gathers me in his arms, leaning against the saddle stand.  
"You should really learn to keep quiet, my love," he chuckles softly with his face buried in my hair.

"You know you like it when I cheer you on," I response, kissing his collar bone.

Loki chuckles again. "True, my little wolf. True."


	11. The countryside - part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: slightly mature content at the end.

When we get back to the caravan, my grandparents are just preparing to go inside. My grandfather holds up a beer from the fridge to Loki and my Asgardian prince lets go of my hand to take the bottle from Bert. I opt out of the beer and want some soda instead, but my grandmother insists us girls drink alcohol too. I get flashbacks to my teenage years when she shows me the familiar bottle of passion fruit liqueur. Wilma mixes it with orange juice for us and I feel like I'm 16 years old again when I take my first sip.

At the back of the trailer is a U-shaped couch with a foldable table in the middle. We scoot in with our drinks, some salty snacks and a pack of cards. We talk about our ride - at least, the one on horseback - and Loki manages to tell my grandparents how much he likes it here without me having to translate.

They had card games on Asgard too, some very similar to the ones we play on Earth and Loki has learned the rules for a couple of our games during the time he's here on this planet. My grandparents are fervent players, especially Wilma, and I'm surprised when Loki actually wins a round. But then I spot the card lying on his thigh, under the table.  
"You cheat!" I exclaim, grabbing the card from his hiding spot. I don't know if my grandparents know the English word for cheating, but when they see the card in my hand they understand what Loki has done.

My grandmother waves her finger at him in accusation, saying something along the lines of 'don't you ever do that again, young man'. I don't think I have to translate that for Loki, her body language is clear enough. My grandfather just laughs, thinking it funny someone dared to cheat in a game against his wife.

Loki says nothing, but the smirk on his face just gets bigger and bigger. I'm starting to think he did this on purpose. After all, why would the God of Mischief get caught with something simple as cheating at a card game?  
He gives me a wink and chuckles. "A cheater? Who? Me?"

Loki spreads his hands and suddenly cards pop up from his sleeves, spilling on the table. They're all aces. My grandparents look at him with wide eyes, completely surprised by this display of magic. I'm baffled, why would Loki use his magic in front of my grandparents? He is usually very discreet with this sort of things.

"I didn't know you were a magician!" my grandfather says and my grandmother starts clapping her hands and asks for more. A sigh of relief escapes me, it's better they think Loki to be an illusionist than a real life sorcerer.

Loki, being the show off that he is, entertains them by conjuring up playing cards from every possible nook and cranny. When my grandparents are distracted by some cards that somehow ended up inside the empty beer bottle my grandfather is holding, Loki turns to me and pulls the Queen of Hearts from my cleavage. A bit sappy, but I love it anyway.

After another round of cards, which my nan wins again, we bid my grandparents goodnight. I grab our toothbrushes from the tent and we walk over the dark field to the bathhouse. There are toilets and showers here for the guests, as well as some sinks and a washing machine. I squint my eyes against the fluorescent lights inside the building. Moths and other small insects flit around the lamp against the ceiling, drawn by the light. Somehow I always associate that image with the summer holidays: brushing my teeth illuminated by a lamp covered in insects.

Loki stands at the sink next to me, leaning with one hand on the edge of the bassin as he brushes his teeth. I slip my phone from my back pocket and take a picture of my dark haired prince. He looks completely alien and yet so at home at the same time. There are times I almost can't believe I get to call this man mine. It's certainly not something I expected when he first started coming to the Manhattan bookstore, just one block from Stark's building. My life has changed so much since those days.

Loki rinses his mouth and looks over at me. "What's on your mind, my little wolf? You look like you're miles away."

"Nothing special. Just thinking about when I first met you. Things have certainly changed since then."

My dark haired prince takes a step to close the distance between us and slides his arms around my waist. "Do you want to turn back time?"

I resolutely shake my head. "No, I would not want it any different."

"Good," Loki hums, kissing my temple. "Now, let's find out if that air mattress is any good."

I crawl in first, searching for the flashlight. When I find it under the overnight bag, I turn it on and hang it dangling from the roof of the tent. Loki crawls in after me, filling up the small space with his long limbs.  
Getting out of my tight jeans with Loki bouncing on the air mattress beside me turns into a small circus act, which gives me the giggles. Even after Loki has magicked my clothes away and pulled me in the sleeping bag with him I still have giggle fits. My prince silences me with his lips, pulling me flush against him.  
The kiss deepens and my hands wander across Loki's chest, stomach and back. He returns the gesture and pretty soon the temperature in the sleeping bag rises. Unlike this afternoon in the tack room, we take our time. Every inch of my skin gets covered in kisses, Loki's deft fingers filling in the void as his lips move to another part of my body.

It's not until after I've silenced the cries of my release by pressing the sleeping bag against my mouth, that Loki crawls up from his spot between my thighs. I taste myself in his kiss and pull him close against me. The weight of his body on top of mine grounds me, with his arms around me I feel safe. I wrap my legs around his hips and with a small adjustment of his pelvis Loki slides inside me. He keeps still for a while, deepening our kiss, our bodies touching from our heads to our knees.

When we break the kiss, Loki leans his forehead against mine for a moment. "You are my light," he whispers softly and kisses me again before slowly starting to move his hips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last part of The Countryside. Next up is a new short story.


	12. Loki's view - Scene 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following five chapters are chapters of Coffee & Books 1, retold from Loki's point of view. How he meets Ylva for the first time and is amazed by how she is the only one who can come close to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... there was this idea... How would Loki experience meeting YIva for the first time? I thought about it for a couple of minutes and then I pulled out my laptop. There were words that needed to be put to (digital) paper!
> 
> I took the first six chapters from 'Coffee & Books' and rewrote the scenes with Loki in it, from Loki's point of view.
> 
> Read about how Loki and Ylva meet, but now from his perspective. 
> 
> This first scene corresponds with chapter 2 of Coffee & Books book 1.

The car stops in front of Stark Tower, his new home since this week. Loki gets out of the black city car and looks up alongside the towering building. It's not what he would have picked for a home, but it's better than that bare glass cell at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. And at least he's not alone anymore, although he would not have picked these roommates either. Loki squares his shoulders and walks into the lobby, behind Thor, Lady Eir and Heimdall.

As always, Thor is feeling right at home here at Midgard. The big oaf is even wearing a T-shirt with an Avengers logo, displaying his love for his team of Midgardian superheroes. Or whatever they think of themselves. 'They wouldn't even be together if it weren't for me', Loki thinks to himself.

Suddenly, Thor sets off in the direction of the reception desk on the other side of the lobby, leaving his company waiting by the elevators. "Now what?" Loki sighs, staring after his brother.

The blond warrior scares a female mortal by popping up behind her and swooping a box of baked goods from her hands. Thor exchanges some words with the girl who is blushing and stuttering. Loki rolls his eyes and looks to Heimdall at his side. "Can you go get him? He's making friends again."

"You should try that once," is the dark-skinned gatekeepers reply, but he walks over to Thor anyway.

Loki pushes the elevator button and holds the doors open until Heimdall and Thor have joined them again.

"Look! Muffins!" Thor holds up the paper box he took from the girl.

"Did you just steal from a mortal?" Loki taunts his brother, while allowing Lady Eir to walk into the elevator before him.

"No, no. Stark ordered them. At least, I think so. I'm just taking these up to him." Thor smiles and takes another look inside the box. The guy is practically drooling already. "Nice girl by the way, old Norse name. Little Wolf."

"We'll be seeing more of her," Heimdall says cryptically.

Loki cocks his eyebrow as the gatekeeper looks at him in a peculiar way. Why would he want to see the mortal girl again? He turns his head to look in her direction. She is watching the elevator, probably still a bit stunned after meeting Thor. Little Wolf, or Ylva. Fierce name. She doesn't look fierce.

The elevator doors close and Loki forgets about the mortal girl in the lobby. If only Heimdall would stop staring at him; Loki can feel the golden eyes looking at him, even though he can't see them through the sunglasses.  
  



	13. Loki's view - Scene 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene corresponds with chapter 3 of Coffee & Books book 1.

Loki stands before the high windows in the apartment. Outside, way below him, the streets of New York crawl with people. Puny mortals with short lifespans, living their lives in oblivion of their petty state. He twists the metal cuffs at his wrists, wishing with all his heart he could pry them off. The skin under the metal is red and sore from his constant fidgeting and scratching at the damned things. He has barely enough magic to heal up the wounds when he draws blood. Last time he needed to heal a particular large gash his arm turned blue because of the drain of magic.

Loki lets his head fall back with a sigh. He needs distraction. Now. Behind him in the turning chair is the last book he read, a work about Roman mythology. But he has read every book in the apartment already. "I want to go out," he says without turning from the window.

"You know it's not that easy, Loki." The sounds of the television change to a repetitive tune when Thor pauses his video game. The leather of the couch creaks as the big warrior shifts in his seat to look at his brother. "You are not allowed to wander the streets of New York."

"Then why bother getting me out of that prison? This is just another glass cage!" Loki slams his fist against the window.

"Why don't we go for a coffee?" Heimdall suggests calmly, putting his newspaper down. The thin paper rustles when Heimdall folds it up. "That bookstore you always order from has a coffee shop next door, we can go there. It's just down the block, we won't even need the car."

Loki frowns at Heimdall's willingness to make up an outing for him, though if it gives him a chance to go outside, he'll take it. Even better if they can just walk there. The traffic on Midgard is terrible, especially in the city. Loki hates being stuck inside the tin can that they call a car here, waiting to drive a couple of feet and then wait again.

He takes a deep breath when they set foot outside the lobby of Stark Tower. The air smells like car gasses, greasy street food, human sweat and garbage, but it still beats sitting inside all day staring out of his glass aquarium.

It's a short walk to the coffee shop. 'Coffee & Books' it says in big curly letters on the shop window, above a logo of a coffee cup on top of a stack of books. Next door is the bookstore where he orders his books, the two spaces separated from each other by a glass wall with a door in it.

A bell above the front door tingles when he walks through behind Thor and Heimdall. Loki stops to look around; the place is filled with mismatched furniture, books scattered across the tables. Not all the tables are occupied, but it's clear this coffee shop is well visited by patrons. It has a vibe that the mortals would probably call 'homey' or some other cosy term. Most guests came in pairs or small groups, chatting with each other as they drink their coffee or other hot beverages. Those who came alone are mostly reading, or tapping mindlessly at their smartphones.

"I didn't hear you come in, sir... er... your highness?" Loki catches the stumbling words of the mortal behind the counter. It's the same girl as from the lobby at Stark Tower. It seems like Thor has managed to scare the girl again, she must have the nerves of a mouse.

His brother and Heimdall take a seat at the counter and place their order. The coffee machine grinds the beans and the strong smell of fresh coffee drifts over to Loki, rousing him from his pensive state.

Behind the glass wall is the bookstore and inside he can see a tall man with blond hair that's slowly losing its colour. The man is helping a customer at the register, handing the woman a book wrapped in brown paper. He suspects it's the owner, a man named Lars Frederikson; they have spoken on the phone once.  
Loki walks over to the bookstore and is immediately greeted by the man. "Good morning, sir. What can I do for you?"

"Good morning. I'm Loki Odinson, we've spoken on the phone before."

"Ah, yes! The gentleman who lives at Stark Tower. Nice to meet you, sir!" Frederikson shakes his hand warmly. "How nice of you to visit."

"I thought I would come see the store that has brought me so many great books already." Being nice to humans isn't high on Loki's list, but this man has helped keep his boredom at bay for many months now. As soon as he was allowed books in his cell, Loki had asked Heimdall to order books for him. After a few orders, the bookstore had added a list of reading suggestions with each new purchase. Loki had soon found out that Frederikson's tips were worth checking out.

"You are very welcome!" Frederikson says friendly. Would you like a tour?"

The store isn't that big, so Loki doubts it is worth a tour. Nevertheless, the owner is pretty tolerable for a human and it's actually nice to talk to someone new. "Of course. Show me what you've got!"

Frederikson briefly shows him the different sections of the bookstore - it has a relatively large section of mythology books - before taking him to the back of the store. The glass cabinets catch Loki's interest. Inside are old books, most of them first editions. The Midgardian books aren't as old as some of the texts they had in the Royal Library on Asgard, but Loki's heart warms a little at the sight of the well-loved leather thomes.

Frederikson quickly catches on that his customer shares his love for old books and opens the cabinets to show Loki the books up close. His most prized possessions are some old editions of a Midgardian playwright called Shakespeare, although Frederikson is also fond of an old illustrated thome with Norse myths.

"I haven't read anything of Shakespeare yet," Loki tells the bookstore owner. "Is there a story you would recommend?"

"Oh, there are so many! Shakespeare wrote some beautiful poems about love, might that be of your interest?"

Loki smirks. "Not in particular. I hope he also wrote about some more exciting topics?"

Frederikson looks at him for a second and then he laughs. "Shakespeare also loved him some murder and family drama's. Is that a better fit for you?"

"Sounds like it is right up my alley."

Loki leaves the store with a new copy of 'Hamlet'. Thor and Heimdall are still sitting at the counter, talking to that Little Wolf girl and a young man. Loki has no interest in joining them, so he takes a seat in a classic brown leather armchair in the back of the coffee shop, away from people. There is a brown couch of the same make next to the chair, but those are literally the only pieces of furniture that seem to belong together in the entire room. The large chair is actually quite comfortable and it takes him little to no effort to tune out the sound of people talking around him. The coffee shop may have shabby looking furniture, but its acoustics are great.

Immersed in his book, Loki finds himself at peace, something he doesn't experience that often these days. It was nice talking to the owner of the bookstore and his recommendation of 'Hamlet' was again to the point. With a good book and a comfortable chair Loki is content for now.

He smells her sickly sweet perfume before her high voice pierces his ears, ripping him from his book. His calm feeling is gone immediately.  
"Good morning, sir! Can I get you something to drink? I can also recommend our muffins, they're the finest in New York!" The girl rattles at hyper speed. Her eyes are heavily made up, as well as the rest of her face. She's very young, trying to look older.

"Get that hideous smell away from me!" Loki hisses at the mortal who disturbed him. "It's a perfume, you shouldn't bathe in it!"

"I'm sorry, sir?" the girl stammers, looking at him wide eyed.

"Quit yapping!" Loki snaps at her. "Go back to whatever whorehouse you came from, you mewling quim!"

The girl turns on her heels and practically runs back to the counter, where her colleague Little Wolf comforts her. Thor also comes to her aid, no surprise there.

Irritated, Loki closes his book in his lap. If he would think rationally, the girl had done little wrong. She just chose the one moment he had found some quiet in his mind to disturb him with her meaningless presence; and for that he resented her deeply. That, and her sickly sweet perfume that now clung in his nostrils. 


	14. Loki's view - Scene 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene takes place on the same day as chapter 4 of 'Coffee & Books' book 1.

The story of 'Hamlet' was certainly entertaining, but Loki finds himself out of books again. So the next morning he rings the bookstore, asking the owner for some books about Midgardian history and culture. "Please skip the religious topics, I've got no patience for fairy tales," Loki tells Frederikson with a hint of sarcasm.

"I'll see what I can do," the man answers, clearly smiling on the other end of the line. "Do you want them today? I can ask my niece to deliver them this afternoon."

"That would be fine. Thank you."

"Ordering books again?" Thor asks curiously when Loki puts the phone down.

"Yes, I thought I would save you the trouble of having to comfort the mortals today." He watches his brother challengingly.

Thor sighs. "Would it really kill you to be a little nicer to the people here? They're not that bad, really."

"Well, that girl certainly smelled bad."

"You are such a snob."

Loki rolls his eyes at his brother and wants to walk away, back to his own room. Thor catches his arm before he can escape his brother's lecture.  
"You were right yesterday," Thor admits solemnly. "If you are not able to leave this apartment, it is just like a prison. I talked to Stark, he thought of a solution to give you some more freedom of movement. Within limits, of course. S.H.I.E.L.D. has put down some restrictions."

"What? Do I get a leash?" Loki says sharply, pulling his arm out of Thor's grasp. "Or an armed escort?"

"None of that. Well, not entirely." Thor frowns, like he knows that Loki will not be happy with what he has to say. "You will have an agent following you when you go out. You also can't go any further than a previously permitted distance."

Loki counts internally to ten. Or a thousand. The S.H.I.E.L.D. escort was to be expected, but also easy to ignore. Or lose, if necessary. "How will they know if I stay within their radius?" It's a calculated question.

"A tracker." Thor answers curtly.

Loki stares at his brother. "A tracker? What? Like they're gonna stick a tracking device on my clothes? By Valhalla, these humans are idiots."

"Not on your clothes. In you." Thor doesn't dare to look him in the eyes.

"In. Me?" His nostrils flare.

Thor nods gravely.

Loki clenches his jaw and stalks out of the room, slamming the door behind him. His blood boils;  almost literally because the magic inside him, triggered by his anger, can't get out. These bloody cuffs restrict his magic, prevent him from being the real God of Mischief. Now they want to tag him like an animal! They might as well hang some yellow label from his ear, like they do to their cows.

***

Lady Eir looks over his wounds in silence, his lower arms placed on the kitchen table so she has a good view. Loki knows she must be judging him, but she keeps it to herself. In the hall he can hear the sounds of the housekeeping crew that has come to clean up and repair his room. 'Let those pesky humans clean up what they have caused', Loki thinks angrily. The worst of his rage is over, but his neck is still strained from the tension.

"I can help you heal them," Eir says quietly, her hands already hovering above his wrists.

Loki nods and concentrates on knitting the red gashes in his skin back together. The skin on his arms slowly turns blue, his rage has worn him out. Though with the help of Lady Eir his skin soon looks like normal again, maybe only slightly redder than it's supposed to be. Loki pulls his bloodied sleeves down, he would need to change his shirt later. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Loki." Her eyes tell him she's sorry too, but she knows he doesn't want to hear it. Instead, she changes the subject. "Do you have some new books coming today?"

"Yes. They should be delivered this afternoon."

"That's fast. I thought the postal service on Midgard took at least a day." Eir says, trying very hard to keep up a normal conversation, for which Loki is actually grateful.

"Frederikson is sending his niece to bring them over."

"Might that be Lady Ylva?"

"I think so. How do you know?" Loki looks at the Asgardian healer curiously. What is it with the fascination of his roommates with this human girl?

"Oh, Heimdall told me about her," Eir says lightly and turns away from the kitchen table. "Do you want something to drink?"


	15. Loki's view - Scene 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene corresponds with chapter 5 in 'Coffee & Books' - book 1.

Loki sits in the turning chair in front of the large windows, his favourite place in the apartment. He stares at the view of skyscrapers and other tall buildings, alternating with pieces of blue sky. He'd rather be reading, knowing the view by heart already, but he has yet to receive his order of books.

The door to the apartment opens and Thor and a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent come in. Loki recognises the sound of the black leather shoes they all seem to wear. It's probably Williams, as he is the agent assigned to the Asgardians. Soon, there will be more of them, coming especially to keep an eye on him. Loki hears another set of footsteps on the marble floor of the entrance to the apartment. Did they send an agent for him already? The moment he wants to turn his chair around to see who is there, he hears Lady Eir greet the person.  
"Welcome, Lady Ylva. Would you like some orange juice?"

It's the Little Wolf girl.

Loki releases a sigh of relief he didn't knew he was holding in. No agent yet. Just the girl from the coffee shop who is bringing him his books.

When she steps further into the living room, he can see her reflection in the glass of the window. She has put her hair up in a messy bun and wears a knee-length dress in bright green. The girl looks around the room until her gaze falls on the chair in which he is sitting.  
The green dress becomes brighter in the reflection of the window when she comes closer. She is holding a package in her hands, his books. Loki holds up his hand expectantly when she is close to the chair. "I believe that is for me?"

The girl doesn't react; Loki shifts his gaze from her reflection to the real girl next to him. He notices she has light freckles, matching her strawberry blonde hair; her dress has tiny blue flowers printed all over the green fabric. She is looking at him, probably still processing all the new impressions. Knowing Thor, he probably scared her again or something. Loki cocks an eyebrow, his hand still waiting to receive his package. "Well?"

"Oh. Uh. Yes, sorry." She finally hands him the package of books.

Loki unwraps the books in his lap. On top is 'On the origin of species' by Charles Darwin. Underneath is a book on anthropology and Frederikson also added a book that claims to be the short history of nearly everything. Flipping through the books, Loki becomes aware that the girl is still standing next to his chair. Looking up through his eyelashes he can see her reflection in the glass.

"You're welcome," she mutters under her breath before taking a couple of steps closer to the window, away from his chair.

Loki feels the corners of his mouth turn up. She expected a thank you and her quiet protest is amusing. The girl takes another step to the glass so she can look almost directly down. The hairs on her arms stand up; the nerve of a mouse indeed.

Little Wolf girl hears his chuckle, but she ignores him on purpose. The mouse seems to have a spine, however small.

She is looking for something among the mass of buildings outside when Thor comes to stand next to her. Always the big friendly giant, he takes up a conversation with the girl. Why did he bring her up anyway? Thor always had more of a thing for brunettes. Either way, his brother diligently looks for a red bench on a rooftop, the landmark of her home apparently.

Thor is not the only one who wants to talk to the girl. Lady Eir calls her over, she and Thor do a good job of getting the girl's life story out of her. Instead of reading his book, Loki listens to them talking behind him. She sounds like nothing special: she came from a small country in Europe to live with her aunt and uncle in New York and work as a waitress in their coffee shop. Yet somehow he enjoys to hear her talk about her simple life, she has a pleasant voice and an open attitude. Of course, when you ask someone about their home, they want to know about your home too. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been very selective giving out information about how and why the Asgardians came to Earth, so it's up to Thor and Eir to explain to the girl Asgard had exploded into tiny pieces.

Of course the girl is sorry to hear about the loss of their home. "Thank you," Thor says. "But thankfully we found refuge here on Earth. Tony Stark has been a wonderful host to us."

Loki snorts when he hears the name of Stark, the designer of his metal cuffs and the one who came up with the idea to tag him like an animal.

"I know you feel differently, brother," Thor says, addressing the back of the chair. "But Tony Stark really has done a lot for the people of Asgard. He has been more than hospitable."

Loki wants to give his opinion on that, but the girl expertly changes the topic before he can say anything. So Loki keeps staring at the reflection of the people sitting on the couch in the living room. They're too far away from the glass to see clearly, but the girl's green dress stands out.

He is absentmindedly thumbing through Darwin's book, when the door to the apartment swings open. "Yoohoo... Reindeer games! You home? I've got something for you!"

_Stark._

Loki slowly puts his books on the floor and places his hands on the armrests of his chair. For a moment his fingers tightly grip the leather, but then he forces himself to put up a relaxed demeanor. Stark is distracted anyway, his attention focused on the girl. Loki turns his chair to face the room, seeing her and Stark shake hands stiffly. It's clear she doesn't like the billionaire that much. She leans back a little as he entered into her personal space and pulls her hand back gingerly the moment she can. The corners of Loki's mouth turn up when he sees her share his dislike of Stark.  
However, his mouth is a straight line again the moment Stark shifts his attention from the girl to Loki. The billionaire inventor holds up a large syringe and waves it back and forth. "This will only hurt a little, Bambi!" Tony Stark laughs.

Loki shoots up from his chair, his hands clenched in fists. It takes all of his self restraint to not wrap his hands around the shorter man's throat.

"Loki..." Thor's voice contains a warning. "We've talked about this. There are some conditions to your release..."

By Valhalla! That oaf really doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut! Loki shoots his brother a dark look, shutting him up.

"Not. Here." It is bad enough that this needs to happen, but does it need to be done here? In front of everyone? In front of a human girl who barely knows him?

Heimdall and Eir sit still on the couch, looking away from the situation. They have talked about it at length, when Loki was inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. prison and after he had been released. If he wants to stay out of that glass cell, he has to play by the rules. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rules.

The attending S.H.I.E.L.D. agent seems to be on full alert, expecting Loki to attack Stark at any moment. Well, he wasn't that far off the mark, Loki would really like to do just that. If only it wouldn't have him end up in that horrid glass cell again. Thor and Heimdall would surely help agent Williams stop Loki and he wouldn't be surprised if one of Stark's tin suits would come flying in too.

It would also scare the girl; it's a consideration that surprises Loki a little.

"Don't worry, you don't have to drop your pants in front of the pretty lady," Stark says airily, unaware of Loki's thoughts. "Rolling up your sleeve will be enough."

Loki looks at the girl, who tries to make herself disappear into the couch cushions. He suddenly feels ashamed of what is happening here. He's about to be tagged like an animal in front of everyone. His brother, Eir and Heimdall know why he isn't putting up more of a fight. That S.H.I.E.L.D. agent probably thinks his organisation has the evil space god under control and Loki has no qualms to let him think that. But what will the human girl think?

For a short moment she looks him in the eyes, before squeezing hers shut. Loki is certain he saw something in her eyes, it was not pity, yet she doesn't want this to happen to him. He hasn't even been that nice to her. And yet, still she shows him compassion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last part of the story 'Loki's view'. Next up is a new short story.


	16. Restraints

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki wears magic restricting bracelets in the Coffee & Books universe. This story tells how he got them. This story has got a little of Jotun Loki in it :-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In one of the last chapters of 'Coffee & Books' Loki tells Ylva he turned Jotun when he got his magic restricting bracelets on for the first time. The short story that now follows tells what happened on that day. 
> 
> This story predates 'Loki's view' by a couple of days and therefore also has a place before 'Coffee & Books' on the timeline. It features Loki, Thor and Tony Stark. 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy the story and as always I'm curious to hear (read) what you think!

The king of Asgard and the billionaire inventor both stare at the two objects on the table between them. "Are you sure these can restrict his magic?" Thor sounds doubtful. "My brother is a Master of Magic, it is in his blood. I'm not sure two Earth-made metal cuffs can keep him under control."

Tony Stark huffs and picks one of the metal bracelets up from the table. "This is  _vibranium_ , Point Break. There is no way your evil adopted brother can break them."

"He's not evil," Thor interjects sternly. "Loki has redeemed himself, without him our people would have been slaughtered on the Rainbow Bridge or would have perished with the rest of Asgard!" Thor's one eye peers angrily at his fellow Avenger.

"Don't loose your cool, buddy," Tony shushes, holding up his hands in apology. "You have told the story often enough. Your belief in Loki is the only reason I even designed these things in the first place." He turns the metal cuff around in his hands; although tested thoroughly in his lab, the real test will be when they enclose them on Loki's wrists. They are smaller - a lot smaller - versions of the metal box-like restraints that are used by S.H.I.E.L.D. to contain beings with magical powers. "With some more time I could have designed something a little more sophisticated, but this will do."

"He will not like them anyway," Thor answers solemnly.

"We are letting him out of prison," Tony reminds his the thundergod pointedly. "He has no say in this! Loki may have shown his good side to the people of Asgard, yet here on Earth we still remember the horrors of six years ago all too vividly!" Tony clenches his jaw; he is of a mind to throw the metal cuffs in the bin and tell Thor that black-haired brother of his can rot in jail for the rest of his life. Loki being a demi-god, that is a lot of jailtime to be looking upon.

Thor pulls Tony's thoughts back to the present. "The people of Asgard are very grateful we can have Loki back in our midst," the Asgardian says humbly. "We have lost so much, it is important we stick together."

"Yeah, yeah," Tony replies gruffly. "Let's get this over with."

 

\---------------------------------

 

Tony checks his tools for the seventh time in twelve minutes. The worklab at the remote S.H.I.E.L.D. facility is almost as well equipped as his own lab, he should have every tool he might need. Not that he needs it, he tested the restraints one last time before they left the city; they work perfectly, the settings are even adjustable, a feature Thor specifically asked for. The king of Asgard seems to think Loki can roam the Earth without magic restraints in time. Tony scoffs with disdain, even though he is the only one in the room. He whips out his tablet again, looking at the settings. He made them stronger than the standard S.H.I.E.L.D. restraints, which leave just a tiny bit of magic to remain. Tony's finger lingers over the slider for the settings on the screen, his eyes glazing over at the memory of the alien invasion. At the sound of the door opening behind him, his finger slides up and he quickly locks the screen to turn around at his company.

 

\----------------------------------

 

The automatic door slides open for Thor after he presses his thumb to the keypad. It is an act he has become all too familiar with in the past months, same as the room he is walking into now. The space is dominated by the round glass cell in the middle; white floor, white ceiling, glass all around. The cell is minimally furnished with a white bed with dove grey blankets, a white table with a matching chair and a small bookcase, also white. Thor's brother is lying on the bed, his hands folded on his chest and his eyes closed. The raven-haired Asgardian prince stands out from his white surroundings, wearing attire from his home realm in his usual black and dark green.

"Hello, brother," Loki says quietly the moment Thor stops in front of the glass.

"Hello, Loki," Thor answers amicably. "Have you said goodbye to your surroundings already?"

"Don't need to." Loki turns his head to Thor and opens his eyes. "They're burned into my brain, I'll never forget them." It sounds like a jest, yet Thor knows there's truth to his brother's statement; Loki hates his cell with a burning passion.

The dark-haired prince of Asgard slowly gets up from the narrow bed, taking the few paces to get to the opposite side of the glass, facing the king of Asgard. Loki clasps his hands behind his back and sticks his chin up. "I take it Stark is done with his handywork?"

Thor nods. "He is, he is waiting for you in the other room. Let's just get this over with and then I can take you home."

" _Home_  exploded into a million pieces," Loki sneers provocatively.

"We've got a new home. Temporary maybe, but it's quite nice. You'll like the view." Thor gestures to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents behind him to come forward with Loki's shackles, so the glass cell can be opened.

"As long as it isn't all blindingly white, I'm good with it." Loki mockingly holds his hands out to one of the agents, staring darkly at the man. The Trickster smirks when he sees sweat starting to pearl on the man's forehead. "What?" he says innocently to Thor when he catches his brother's expression, ignoring the two other agents who have their weapons on stand-by.

"Just come along," Thor sighs and takes his brother by the elbow. Despite having his hands bound in a rounded metal box, almost a mock equivalent of a lady's fur muff, the prince keeps his back straight and his head high.

It's only a short walk through the halls of the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, yet there seem to be agents around every corner. The prince of Asgard, the one who brought the Chitauri army to New York, rarely gets a hallpass, and now he is even leaving the facility to be placed under house arrest at Stark Tower.  Fury is nowhere to be seen, yet Thor is positive the director is closely following the little procession in his hallways. The agents who aren't ordered to stand by in case the Trickster tries to escape came to watch anyway; they all have the same wary look in their eyes, their hands loosely lingering around their holsters. The presence of that much S.H.I.E.L.D. muscle knits Thor's brows further together with every step, yet Loki's face doesn't betray any emotion. Stepping into the worklab where Tony Stark is waiting for them, however, is a welcome relief from the tension in the hallways.

"We can handle it from here, thank you." Tony dismisses the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who escorted the two Asgardians. The automatic door slides shut and the three men are alone in the room; not a word is spoken for a minute or so, until the billionaire inventor gestures to a exam table to his right side. "Take a seat."

Loki looks from the table to the shorter man in front of him, a clear look of distaste for the both of them on his face.

"Need I remind you I am offering you a place in my home?" Tony bristles at the bound demi-god. "You better start doing what I ask of you, or else you can march straight back to your white aquarium!"

Loki grinds his teeth, but the grip Thor has on his elbow reminds him to hold his sharp tongue. The situation has been discussed at length; he is to be placed under house-arrest at Stark Tower, with his brother and Heimdall as his main guardians. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark have made a whole list of rules and restrictions for him to live by, the threat of being put back in that glass box hovering over his head constantly.

With clear reluctance the God of Mischief takes a seat on the exam table, the tips of his feet only just touching the ground. Tony Stark goes to stand in front of him, a restraint in the form of a bracelet in his hand. "No funny stuff, Reindeer Games," he warns, almost matching Loki's menacing stare.

Loki's relieved sigh when his hands come free of the metal box is barely perceptible, but Tony picks up on it anyway. He quickly clicks the restraints he designed on the wrists of the God of Lies and steps back to get his tablet to turn them on. The prince of Asgard slowly turns his hands back and forth, studying the bracelets. "Great, a fashion accessory," he remarks coolly, a half smile on his face. Loki flexes his wrists. "I don't think they work, Stark."

"Oh, they do," Tony replies airily and switches the restraints on.

With a sharp hiss Loki clenches his fists when his magic is suddenly blocked by the metal bracelets; this is even worse than that damned metal box S.H.I.E.L.D. uses. Cold dread trickles down his spine as the thin white lines adorn his blue skin. He pinches his eyes shut, trying to control the rage inside him.

"What the hell?!" Tony Stark jumps back a feet at the sight of a suddenly blue God of Lies. His hands, his neck, his face, every visible portion of skin is a matted shade of blue, decorated with almost geometric white lines. With his heart hammering in his chest Tony takes a better look at the alien sitting on the exam table. It wears the same black and green clothes Loki always favours, the long black hair is the same and the grey metal of the restraints is clearly visible against the blue skin. Tony's heart skips a beat in shock when Loki suddenly opens his eyes to look at him. The usually green irises are gone completely, replaced by eyes that remind Tony of the colour of old blood. "What. The. Actual. Fuck!"

Thor takes a step closer to Tony to look at the tablet the billionaire inventor is holding. He tries to take it, but Tony snatches it out of reach. "What is this, Thor?!"

"What do you mean, what is this?" Thor answers in an annoyed voice. "I can ask you the same thing, Stark! I thought I said to put adjustable settings on those cuffs."

"And I did!" Tony replies angrily and waves at the blue Loki at the examtable, who is actually softly growling by now. "I mean, what is  _this_?!"

Thor shrugs. "He's adopted."

Tony stares incredulously at the brickhouse of a man before him. "Adopted. Right."

"Fix this, Stark." Loki's low voice is dripping with hate and malice, yet he doesn't move an inch, his hands gripping the edge of the exam table and making finger shaped dents in it.

"Fix it how? I don't think you mean you need to take a shower to brush the paint off," Tony answers wittily, his sarcasm taking over from his initial shock.

Loki growls and jumps from the exam table, but Thor places himself between his brother and Tony and the blue God of Lies leaves it at glaring menacingly at the human source of his anger.

"Change the settings on those things, Stark," Thor instructs sternly. "I'm not asking again."

Without a word Tony adjusts the settings on the restraints, watching warily how Loki leans back against the exam table and massages his wrists as he returns to his normal skin colour again. Thor puts his hand on Loki's shoulder shortly, as if to comfort him.

Tony studies the data on his tablet, comparing the new settings to the previous readings. The restraints have done a marvellous job, stripping Loki of all of his magic. However, it is clear the Trickster can't be walking the streets of New York without it; Tony grimaces at the thought of sending a blue Loki at the streets. The people have no idea it was Thor's brother who brought the Chitauri army down upon them and for obvious reasons it is better they never know. Not if Loki is to live on Earth with the rest of the Asgardian people. Thor's popularity was a major dealbreaker when the Asgardian spaceship suddenly turned up in Earth's hemisphere, filled with innocent people who had lost their home and livelihood.  One blue annoying brat should not mess that up, Loki had been clear on that point himself too. Well, not on being blue, that was a surprise.

"Yo, Bambi," Tony calls out to Loki, getting the attention of both Asgardians again. "You better choose your default look now, because I'm going to put the restraints on the highest possible setting, just shy of you turning Avatar-blue again."

Loki observes the two men in front of him. His brother Thor is wearing his usual combination of tattered jeans, a T-shirt and a zipped hoodie; the billionaire inventor is somewhat equally dressed up, his washed down band-shirt giving away nothing about the numbers in his bankaccount. A green glimmer passes over Loki and he wears his Asgardian leather armor, complete with green cape and horned helmet. "How's this?" he smirks.

"I suggest something a little more inconspicuous," Thor says with a light shrug.

"You might want to keep from wearing those antlers," Tony points out. "People might remember the footage from Stuttgart. Grainy and shaky or not, that helmet is easy to recognise on the video images."

Loki rolls his eyes. "Fine, but I'm not dressing like some peasant." For the second time a green glimmer passes over him and the flashy Asgardian get up disappears.

It takes a couple of tries to find the right setting for the restraints. They settle on a point where Loki has just enough magic to keep his Asgardian appearance; any magic beyond that is prehibited, the restraints monitoring everything.

Thor watches his brother approvingly as Loki pulls down the sleeves of his all black suit to hide the metal cuffs. "You still dress like a witch, but you'll blend in just fine. Let's take you home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last story of 'Coffee & Books' book 2.


End file.
